President Trump set to shut down the Department of Education

During the 2024 presidential campaign, Donald Trump talked about eliminating the Department of Education. Trump argued that many of its functions should be done by the states. He further argued that the Department of Education should not be pushing for indoctrinating American students with topics inconsistent with the desires of their parents.  However, action from Congress would be needed if Trump’s desire in this area is to be completely met.

From the New York Post:

President Trump may use his executive powers to gut the Department of Education and then push for legislation to abolish it as part of his administration’s efforts to shrink the size of government, according to a report.

Trump administration officials are reportedly in talks about using an executive order to shut down nearly all of the agency’s functions, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.

Under the potential executive order, certain functions written explicitly into statute would remain at the Department of Education while some programs would be moved to other agencies, according to the outlet.

The order would also call on congressional lawmakers to pass legislation that would formally dismantle the department, as an act of Congress would be required to completely eliminate it.

The Education Department is among the federal agencies that Department of Government Efficiency chief Elon Musk is eyeing major cuts for, according to the Wall Street Journal.

“The president plans to fulfill the campaign promise by reevaluating the future of the Department of Education,” a White House official told The Post when asked about the report.

On the campaign trail, Trump regularly took issue with the Department of Education and pledged to have it shuttered, if elected.

At a September rally in Wisconsin, Trump told the crowd he is “dying” to get back into office to “eliminate the federal Department of Education.”

“We will drain the government education swamp and stop the abuse of your taxpayer dollars to indoctrinate America’s youth with all sorts of things that you don’t want to have our youth hearing,” he said.

In December, Trump told Time magazine that he planned for at least a “virtual closure” of the agency.

Additional Reading:

Nava, V. & Nelson, S. (2025, February 3). Trump considering executive order to shut down Department of Education: report. New York Post. Link.

Category: Donald Trump, Society