President Trump signed an executive order to start shutting down the Department of Education — which he can’t legally do without Congress. Here’s what we know about his plan, the lawsuits challenging it, and what else he’s doing to kill the agency.
For decades, the Republican Party has sought to shutter the federal Department of Education, arguing that education policy should be left to the states. Now, President Donald Trump has signed an executive order calling on his Education secretary to begin doing so — but fully closing the agency will require an act of Congress. The long-awaited move will face extensive legal challenges as the president continues to test the extent of his executive power. Here’s what we know about Trump and his allies’ ongoing efforts to kill the ED.
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What does Trump’s executive order say and do?
President Trump’s March 20 executive order says Education Secretary Linda McMahon “shall, to the maximum extent appropriate and permitted by law, take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return authority over education to the States and local communities while ensuring the effective and uninterrupted delivery of services, programs, and benefits on which Americans rely.”
In other words, it says that McMahon should do everything she can to dismantle the the agency without breaking federal laws, which includes eliminating any ED functions required by law. Trump said that as part of his effort to close the agency, critical functions such as administering federal student aid (loans and grants) and funding for students with disabilities would be transferred to other agencies.
On Friday, President Trump said at a White House event that the responsibility for managing federal student aid will be transferred to the Small Business Administration, and that managing programs that assist students with disabilities will be transferred to HHS. For now, however, the ED will continue to run those programs as the law requires.
