President Donald Trump is set to sign an executive order on Thursday aimed at dissolving the U.S. Education Department, fulfilling a long-standing conservative goal to eliminate the agency.
This announcement was made by a White House official, who requested anonymity prior to the public disclosure.
Trump has consistently criticized the Education Department, calling it wasteful and dominated by liberal ideology. However, dismantling the agency may require congressional approval, as it was established by law in 1979.
The executive order would instruct Secretary Linda McMahon to take the necessary steps to close the Education Department and return education authority to individual states, while ensuring the continuation of key services and benefits.
Under the Trump administration, the Education Department has already undergone significant reductions, including workforce cuts and deep cuts to its civil rights and research divisions.
Public school advocates have raised concerns that eliminating the department would worsen the inequalities in the American education system. The National Parents Union warned that the move would harm millions of children and prevent them from receiving a fair education.
While the White House has not yet outlined specific functions to be shifted to other departments or discontinued, McMahon has previously stated that core programs such as Title I funding for low-income schools and Pell grants for college students would be preserved. The administration aims to create a "better functioning" Education Department.
The agency manages billions of dollars in aid, including a $1.6 trillion student loan portfolio, and oversees numerous programs supporting public schools and higher education. Federal funding represents a small portion of public school budgets, yet it plays a key role in supporting vulnerable students and institutions.
Republicans have long sought to eliminate the Education Department, arguing that it wastes taxpayer money and infringes on state and local control. This idea has gained momentum amid growing demands from conservative groups for more control over education.
Trump’s campaign promise to close the department and return control to states has been a central part of his platform, criticizing the agency as a haven for "radicals, zealots, and Marxists." Despite this, Trump has also used the department’s powers to enforce his policies on issues like transgender athletes in women’s sports and diversity programs.
Some of Trump’s allies have raised concerns about whether he can shut down the department without congressional approval, and its popularity remains uncertain. In 2023, an amendment to close the department failed to gain sufficient support, with 60 Republicans joining Democrats to oppose it.
During Trump’s first term, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos proposed deep cuts to the department’s budget and suggested bundling K-12 funding into block grants to give states more control over how they use federal education funds, but this proposal faced opposition, even from some Republicans.