He did not rule out enforcement measures at the time, but said he prefers to work with Congress and teachers’ unions to dismantle the institutions and move education budgets to other federal agencies and states.
Since then, he has adopted a two-tiered approach to eliminate agency. The first was to cut agents in half by cancelling contracts through layoffs and canceling leases on the facility, secondly by issuing an executive order directing Secretary of Education Linda McMahon to facilitate the closure of agencies and take all necessary steps to return the Department of Education to the state.
Education policy experts say this approach is an unknown territory.
On March 20, Trump issued an executive order calling for the end of “a bloated federal system that burdens schools with regulations and paperwork.”
The agency will continue to be responsible for Title I funding for low-income student populations, special education programs and PELL grants for university students, but all other roles will be transferred to the state.
Trump said when President Jimmy Carter founded the agency in 1979, there was strong opposition from Cabinet members, the American Federation of Teachers and Congressional Democrats.
“History proved them right,” Trump said, adding that the US is the world’s leading public education spending, but is behind the K-12 academic achievements.
“It’s where we are, whether we like it or not, and we’ve been there for a long time,” the president said.
Prior to the announcement, Congressional Democrats maintained their opposition to cuts in all sectors, not only their exclusion, while Republicans supported Trump’s intentions.
No Democrats or independent senators voted to confirm McMahon. She pledged herself to get out of her job, and within days of taking the oath of office, she fired half of her staff.
Apart from the importance of career and technical education, the only idea McMahon and Senate Democrats agreed to at the confirmation hearing was that the only Congress, which established the federal agency 46 years ago, had the power to eliminate it.
How far can I proceed to my order?
Thomas Berry, director of the Libertarian Cato Institute’s Center for Constitutional Studies, said the constitution only gives the federal government.
“The President should make a clear statement as to why his vow to protect the Constitution requires action today,” Berry said in an email response to the Epoch Times. “If that’s the case, this action could be a critical step in restoring the federal government to its proper role.”
He says that beyond these line items, many federal education programs can be kept to billions of dollars in tones.
Jonathan Williams, president and chief economist of the American Legislative Exchange Council, told the Epoch Times that McMahon “can accomplish certain reduction tasks for management, but other provisions require cooperation from members of Congress.”
He is optimistic and will ultimately support the decentralization of the Department of Education when some Democrats recognize the benefits of national autonomy and greater control over the share of federal funds in schools.
“Regardless of party affiliation, state lawmakers across the country can ensure that they can customize the educational approach that is best suited to the state and ultimately best suited to the family and the children themselves,” Williams said.
Corey Deangelis, an auxiliary scholar at Cato’s Educational Freedom Center, told NTD, sister media company to the Epoch Times that lawmakers have already drafted a bill to move federal education aid for Pell grants from K-12 schools and universities to the Treasury.
Additional laws are expected to move special education functions to the Department of Health and Human Services and school-related civil rights enforcement to the Department of Justice.
DeAngelis said Republicans don’t have the 60 votes needed to abolish the Department of Education in the Senate, but could change in the 2026 Congressional election.
“But even if you don’t,” he said, “Linda McMahon and Trump are taking the necessary steps. Even if they wipe it off the surface of the earth and don’t kill it completely, hopefully they can give death in 1,000 cuts and kill it from within.”
“By dismantling the department, Trump is helping public schools, stripping students of their ability to strip resources, and dodge the nation for themselves. This is an attempt to bypass Congress and force Americans to take an unpopular agenda.”
After Trump signed the executive order, McMahon said changes to her department were legal.
“Closening the department does not mean cutting off funds from those who rely on them. We will continue to support K-12 students, students with special needs, university borrowers and others who rely on other critical programs,” her statement said.
“We will follow the law and work with legislative and state leaders to ensure a legitimate and orderly transition, thereby responsibly eliminating bureaucracy.”
Actions and challenges
So far, around 2,000 positions within the institution and more than $1 billion have been cancelled, but billions more people with university federal aid, K-12 education rests on the balance of schools that violate previous Trump executive orders that ban diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs and ideologically based education.
The complaint, filed by New York Attorney General Leticia James, calls on federal courts in Massachusetts to overturn Trump’s actions and protect the department from exclusion.
Federal courts in Massachusetts have already temporarily stopped the Department of Education from cutting $250 million in federal teacher training grants.
The lawsuit from the American Federation of Teachers and the American Sociology Association challenges Trump’s February 14 warning letter, which warns that schools could lose federal funds if they don’t quit the DEI program within 14 days.
“We will not be silent as anti-national education politicians try to steal opportunities from students, families and communities to pay for billionaires’ tax cuts,” said organisation president Becky Pringle.
“Together with our parents and allies, we will continue to organize, advocate and mobilize, so that every student has a well-revived school, so that every student can grow to full brilliance.”
Emel Akan contributed to this report.
