A new report claims that President Donald Trump could sign an executive order this week to direct Department of Education Secretary Linda McMahon to begin the process of eliminating the Department of Education.
The Wall Street Journal reported that a draft of the executive order directs McMahon to “take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Education Department” and to ensure that the steps are implemented to “the maximum extent appropriate and permitted by law.”
The draft of Trump’s executive order reportedly emphasizes that the “Federal bureaucratic hold on education must end” and that the “main functions” of the Department of Education “can, and should, be returned to the States.”
The order reportedly adds, “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.”
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While both Trump and McMahon have repeatedly called for education to be sent “back to the states,” The Wall Street Journal reported that legal experts have indicated the complete elimination of the Department of Education would require a 60-vote majority in the U.S. Senate. The outlet noted that despite likely needing congressional approval to fully dismantle the department, the draft of Trump’s executive order does not mention Congress.
According to ABC News, McMahon emphasized during her recent confirmation hearing that the Trump administration would “like to do this right” and indicated that fully eliminating the Department of Education would “require congressional action.”
Asked about his plan to eliminate the Department of Education, Trump previously told reporters, “I told Linda, ‘Linda, I hope you do a great job in putting yourself out of a job.’ I want her to put herself out of a job.”
“We spend more per pupil than any other country in the world, and we’re ranked at the bottom of the list. We’re ranked very badly,” Trump added. “And what I want to do is let the states run schools. I believe strongly in school choice, but in addition to that, I want the states to run schools, and I want Linda to put herself out of a job.”
