President Donald Trump followed through on campaign promises to eradicate the Department of Education.
President Donald Trump is moving forward with plans to abolish the Department of Education.
Trump is expected to sign an executive order following through on a campaign promise to disband the department, claiming on the campaign trail that the department was full of „radicals, zealots and Marxists.“
A White House fact sheet states that the move will „turn over education to families instead of bureaucracies. Trump and proponents of eliminating the department have long said the agency has failed American students.
„NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress) scores reveal a national crisis—our children are falling behind“, Harrison Fields, the White House principal deputy press secretary, told Fox News. „Over the past four years, Democrats have allowed millions of illegal minors into the country, straining school resources and diverting focus from American students.“
„Coupled with the rise of anti-American CRT and DEI indoctrination, this is harming our most vulnerable“, he added. „President Trump’s executive order to expand educational opportunities will empower parents, states, and communities to take control and improve outcomes for all students.“
The directive comes after the Senate voted to confirm Linda McMahon, former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), to lead the agency on March 3. McMahon issued a memo later that day outlining her support for the Trump administration’s plans for the department and that she would oversee a „new era of accountability“ in the agency’s final days.
„The reality of our education system is stark, and the American people have elected President Trump to make significant changes in Washington“, McMahon said in the March 3 memo. „Our job is to respect the will of the American people and the President they elected, who has tasked us with accomplishing the elimination of bureaucratic bloat here at the Department of Education — a momentous final mission — quickly and responsibly.“
Following reports that Trump planned to sign the executive order, the American Federation of Teachers issued a statement imploring Congress to oppose the executive order and will not „abdicate its responsibility to all children, students and working families, who deserve a future full of promise and possibility, not diminished dreams.“
The teacher’s union pointed to an NPR/PBS News/Marist Poll conducted in February that found more than 60% of Americans „strongly oppose“ eradicating the agency.
