President Trump signs executive order to dismantle Department of Education

While Trump may not be able to dismantle it completely without an Act of Congress, Democrats acknowledged that he could weaken it significantly without any congressional action

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order to dismantle the Department of Education on Friday (IST), fulfilling a promise he made to Republicans during his election campaign. The order directs Secretary Linda McMahon to take all necessary steps to facilitate the department’s closure.

 

  According to a Reuters report, the order is designed to leave school policy almost entirely in the hands of state and local boards, which has raised concerns among liberal education advocates.

 

At the signing ceremony in the East Room of the White House, Trump said, “Thursday’s order was a first step to eliminate the department.” He added, “We’re going to be returning education, very simply, back to the states where it belongs.” He was joined by Republican governors Greg Abbott of Texas and Ron DeSantis of Florida.

 

While Trump may not be able to dismantle the department entirely without an Act of Congress, which created it in 1979, Democrats acknowledged that he could significantly weaken it without any legislative action.

 

Senator Patty Murray, in a statement, said that while Trump knows he cannot abolish the department without Congress, he understands that “you can get a similar result by firing all its staff and smashing it down to pieces”.

 

The decision came after an announcement last week that the department would lay off nearly half of its workforce, in line with Trump’s efforts to reduce what he has called a “bloated and inefficient” federal government.  ALSO READ | Why does Trump want to shut down US education department?

 

Trump has previously criticised the Department of Education as wasteful and polluted by liberal ideology.

 

Debate over education in the US

 

According to Reuters, education remains a flashpoint in US politics. Conservatives generally support local control of education and school choice policies that benefit private and religious schools. In contrast, left-leaning voters advocate strong public education funding and diversity initiatives.

 

Trump, however, has elevated the issue, making it part of a broader push against what conservatives see as liberal indoctrination in American education—from universities to K-12 schools.

 

The president has also sought to restructure higher education by reducing funding and moving to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies at colleges and universities.

 

Citing mediocre test scores, poor literacy rates, and low math proficiency, the White House has argued that the Education Department is a “waste of money” and proof that the trillions of dollars invested have yielded poor returns.

 

(With inputs from agencies)