What happened
President Donald Trump Thursday signed an executive order to shut down the Education Department “to the maximum extent appropriate and permitted by law.” He said he was “going to eliminate” the department, a longstanding goal of many conservatives but one that would require an act of Congress.
Who said what
Killing the department would return education “back to the states where it belongs,” Trump said at the signing ceremony. But his order “laid out more aspirations than directives,” The Washington Post said. He did not say “which functions or funding would move from federal to state control” nor “acknowledge that states and local school boards already pay for about 90% of K-12 education” and “make the vast majority of decisions about how public schools run.”
Trump’s order also directed Education Secretary Linda McMahon to ensure “effective and uninterrupted delivery of services, programs and benefits on which Americans rely.” Along with administering student loans and Pell Grants, the department gives states billions of dollars to support high-poverty K-12 schools and students with disabilities. “Each of these programs have large constituencies, and various education groups have mobilized in opposition to closing the department,” The Wall Street Journal said.
Trump has already laid off about half the Education Department’s workforce. Most Americans “do not support closing the department,” Reuters said, with recent polls registering opposition at “roughly 2-to-1.”
What next?
Trump and McMahon have proposed shifting Education Department functions to other departments, but “even those moves would require congressional action,” the Post said. It’s “unclear” whether Trump would “ignore” the relevant statutes and “try to move offices anyway.” Opponents have already vowed to sue.