By law, only Congress can fully close federal agencies. But the department is already facing another ‘very significant’ workforce reduction, according to an email to staff sent last week.
WASHINGTON – A preliminary executive order prepared for President Donald Trump seeks to eliminate the U.S. Department of Education to “the maximum extent appropriate and permitted by law,” according to a draft reviewed by USA TODAY.
The order would direct Linda McMahon, the newly installed education secretary, to dismantle the agency she oversees. Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said in a statement on X that Trump won’t sign an order Thursday, as some media outlets have reported, but she did not rule out action coming later.
A White House official told USA TODAY Trump is still examining his next steps toward a potential executive action and addressing the future of the Department of Education.
“No, no, no,” Trump told reporters Thursday when asked whether he’s having second thoughts about dismantling the department. “I want to bring schools back to the states.”
Since only Congress can abolish federal agencies, the decree would set up a new test for the bounds of presidential authority. And it has the potential to create a new wave of anxiety about the billions of congressionally appropriated dollars that regularly flow through the Education Department to schools and students.
A copy of a draft order directs McMahon to “take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return authority over education to the States and local communities.”
It was unclear whether this draft of the executive order, which has been in the works for weeks, is the version that Trump is now contemplating.
Trump also said Thursday he is considering moving the office overseeing the federal government’s nearly $2 trillion student loan portfolio to another agency. He said he had discussions with other administration officials about folding the Federal Student Aid office into the Small Business Administration. He floated possibly moving it to the Departments of Treasury or Commerce, too.
Trump campaigned to eliminate the Department of Education, which Republicans have long accused of holding too much power over local and state education policy, even though the federal government has no control over school curriculum. Trump told reporters last month that he hopes McMahon eventually puts herself “out of a job.”
