On Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at "eliminating" the Department of Education, fulfilling a long-standing objective of the American right wing, which advocates for state-run schools free from federal control.
At a White House ceremony in the East Room, in which schoolchildren sat at tables, Trump signed the order and held it aloft with a grin. "We're going to shut it down and shut it down as fast as possible. It's not doing us any good," Trump said. "We're going to take education back to the states where it belongs."
Though the Department of Education, established in 1979, cannot be shut down without Congressional assent, Trump's order should reduce its budget and personnel, and hence potentially weaken the department's sway. The move fits one of Trump's campaign commitments and represents one of his most radical actions to reform the government, assisted by tech tycoon Elon Musk.
The executive order tells Education Secretary Linda McMahon to "take all necessary steps to make it possible for the Department of Education to close and for States to take authority back over education."
It was criticized broadly by Democrats and teachers. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called it a "tyrannical power grab" and "one of the most damaging and heartbreaking moves Donald Trump has ever made."
Republican lawmakers, such as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Texas Governor Greg Abbott, watched the bill be signed into law, reflecting firm party support for the bill.
Trump billed the shuttering of the department as a money-saver that would boost student achievement, alleging U.S. education is inferior to that in Europe and China. Education has been an uphill battle of sorts in culture war battles for a long time now, with Republicans pushing back on federal influence.
Trump's appointment of the former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, McMahon, to lead the department had already suggested that the dissolution of the department was likely. "hopefully she will be our last secretary of education," Trump said at the signing ceremony.
McMahon, who started cutting the department's staff shortly after taking office, informed reporters that Trump wants to "get those dollars back to the states without the bureaucracy of Washington."
Trump had campaigned on eliminating the department and delegating its power to the states, a step that parallels the shift in control over abortion rights. But the White House said a smaller version of the department may still exist to manage some key functions such as student loans and grants to low-income students.
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the Department of Education would be much smaller. "The Department of Education will be much smaller than it is now," she said to reporters before the signing.
The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank organization, complimented the action, with a representative saying on X, "It's a beautiful day to dismantle the Department of Education."
Historically, the federal government has had a minimal role in education, providing only around 13 percent of primary and secondary school funding, with the remaining portion coming from local and state sources. Federal funding is, however, essential for low-income schools and students with disabilities. The federal government has also been important in maintaining civil rights protections for students.
Trump, Musk, and Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) already have reorganized a number of federal agencies, weakening them by eliminating programs and employees. Another attempt to dissolve the U.S. Agency for International Development recently was thwarted by a federal judge, who ruled that the action probably broke the U.S. Constitution.
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