Trump set to issue executive order aiming to eliminate Education Department: Report

A draft of the order instructs Education Secretary Linda McMahon to “take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Education Department,” as far as legally possible.

“The experiment of controlling American education through Federal programs and dollars—and the unaccountable bureaucrats those programs and dollars support—has failed our children, our teachers, and our families,” the draft order said.

The draft is labeled “pre-decisional,” implying that it could change, the Journal reported, but eliminating the department has long been a favorite cause in US conservative circles.

After her Senate confirmation, McMahon — whose main professional background is in televised wrestling matches — told staff in an email that she would "send education back to the states." She said that Trump and American voters had entrusted them with the task of swiftly and responsibly eliminating the Education Department's bureaucracy.

Trump had the department on his list to dismantle, an agency established by Congress in 1979 to strengthen federal support for equal educational opportunities and supplement state efforts.

"One other thing I’ll be doing very early in the administration is closing up the Department of Education in Washington, DC, and sending all education and education work and needs back to the states," Trump said in a 2023 campaign video.

Trump cannot close the department through an executive order and would need congressional approval, but he could still undermine its functions and redistribute its duties.