The DOGE probe, which began last week, is a prelude to a more dramatic effort to make good on one of Trump’s campaign promises: eliminating the Education Department altogether.
A separate statute, the Higher Education Act, specifies that the federal student aid office be housed in the Education Department.
Another executive order banning transgender girls and women from competing on women’s sports teams is expected as soon as this week.
Americans have mixed and partisan views of the Education Department, according to a 2024 survey conducted by the Pew Research Center.
Breaking up the Education Department would offer little savings to offset the tax cuts, making the effort largely meaningless, he said.
Three people who were briefed on the contents of the executive order said that President Donald Trump is drafting one that would eventually close the Education Department and, in the short term, dismantle it from within.
These individuals, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not permitted to discuss internal matters in public, stated that the draft order recognizes that only Congress has the authority to close the department and instead instructs it to start dismantling itself.
That work has already begun. Through the placement of numerous employees on administrative leave and pressure to resign voluntarily, the new administration has been attempting to reduce the workforce.
Additionally, according to documents obtained by The Washington Post and three people familiar with the matter, about 20 employees of Elon Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency,” or DOGE, have started working inside the Education Department in an effort to reduce staffing and spending.
According to the sources, at least a few DOGE employees have obtained access to a number of private internal systems, including a financial aid dataset that includes the personal data of millions of students participating in the federal student aid program.
The DOGE investigation, which started last week, is a precursor to a more ambitious attempt to fulfill one of Trump’s campaign pledges: completely dismantling the Education Department.
In keeping with Trump’s campaign promise to defund the department, a White House official confirmed that the administration is getting ready for executive action later this month.
It would be better, according to some Republicans, to hold off until after Linda McMahon, Trump’s nominee for education secretary, appears before the Senate for her confirmation hearing. According to a Senate aide, scheduling has been delayed while her documentation is reviewed by the government ethics office.
The people familiar stated that the anticipated executive order would not close the agency because both parties generally agree that congressional action would be necessary to do so. Congress established the Education Department, and only Congress has the authority to abolish it.
Both parties agree that such congressional action is unlikely. In order for legislation to pass the Senate, it would need a supermajority of 60 votes, which is impossible without at least seven Democrats’ support, according to observers.
Despite receiving 161 yes votes, 60 Republicans joined every Democrat in voting against the department’s abolishment in 2023 when it was proposed as an amendment to a bill pertaining to parents’ rights. The bill didn’t pass.
“I wouldn’t hold my breath that [the department’s closure] would eventually become law,” Rep. The House Education Committee’s chairman, Tim Walberg (R-Michigan), stated in an interview last month. He stated that although he is in favor of closing the agency, a bill of that kind does not have enough Senate support, so it would not be his “highest priority” unless Trump had a plan to advance a bill.
In the interim, Walberg stated, “I would try to find any way that we can de-power the Department of Education.”. “”.
The Education Department will likely be instructed by the order to create a legislative plan that it will submit to Congress. However, it will also give the department instructions to devise a strategy to reduce its personnel and operations.
Although it was unclear how specific the order would be, those who were briefed and those who closely monitor the Education Department stated that they anticipate the department will attempt to transfer some of its responsibilities to other federal departments. The conservative plan for Trump’s second term, Project 2025, outlined potential destinations for the department’s various components in the event that it were shut down.
Project 2025 suggested, for example, that the Justice Department take over civil rights enforcement and the Treasury Department take over the student loan program.
However, experts noted that congressional action would be necessary for even those actions. According to the 1979 law that created the department, it “shall” carry out many of its primary duties, such as maintaining an Office of Elementary and Secondary Education and an Office for Civil Rights.
The Higher Education Act, a different law, stipulates that the Education Department should house the federal student aid office. Bipartisan support for removing some of these responsibilities from the department has existed in the past, but it’s unclear if Democrats would support this change.
Michael Petrilli, president of the Thomas B. Thomas education institute, said Trump and his team likely realize they will not be able to destroy the Education Department by executive order. The Fordham Institute is a conservative information source. He claimed that the action would test the boundaries of presidential power and appease Trump’s supporters.
“It would be intriguing if he directs the transfer of certain departmental functions to other agencies, which would be against the law,” Petrilli stated. After that, there will be a test, and the courts will decide what to do. “”.
An advocacy organization called the National Student Legal Defense Network is already looking into legal challenges to any attempt to dismantle the agency.
The group’s president, Aaron Ament, a former official in the Obama administration, stated that “effectively shutting down the Department of Education through Executive Order or mass firings is a recipe for chaos that will disrupt the lives of students across the country.”. It is not only naive but also unlawful and unconstitutional to attempt to accomplish this without the approval of Congress. “.”.
Nevertheless, Petrilli brought up the ongoing drama at USAID, which Trump, via Musk, essentially shut down and combined with the State Department over the weekend.
“This cannot be done by him alone. The Department of Education cannot be dismantled by him, Petrilli stated. However, boy, it feels like everything is in the air at the moment. Who knows? It’s been a confusing couple of days.
The Republican Party has intermittently advocated closing the department since its establishment in 1979. Trump made false promises throughout his campaign to “return” control of education to the states, a position that was shared by numerous other Republican contenders. Public schools are run by states and school districts, not the federal government. ().
The department manages federal grant programs, such as the $15.5 billion program that helps pay for education for students with disabilities and the $18.4 billion Title I program that gives supplemental funding to K–12 schools in high poverty. The department is also in charge of the $1.66 trillion federal student loan program and establishes guidelines for participating colleges.
Additionally, the agency is tasked with upholding civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, sex, and other characteristics in schools that receive federal funding. The department may exercise its power to refuse federal funding to schools that teach specific racial and gender-related content, according to executive orders signed after Trump assumed office. There will likely be another executive order this week prohibiting transgender women and girls from playing on women’s sports teams.
A Pew Research Center survey from 2024 found that Americans’ opinions of the Education Department are contradictory and partisan. Forty-four percent of respondents had positive opinions about the agency, while forty-five percent had negative opinions. However, 64 percent of Republicans and Lean Republican had a negative opinion of the agency, compared to 26 percent of Democrats and Lean Democratic.
There will undoubtedly be strong opposition to any attempts to close the agency.
Keri Rodrigues, president of the National Parents Union, stated that parents are not requesting more chaos. We are calling for leaders who value education, safeguard the economy, and cease using our children’s futures as political props. “.”.
The University of Maryland School of Public Policy professor emeritus Donald Kettl questioned whether congressional Republicans would have the political will to dismantle the agency given that they are responsible for implementing so many other parts of Trump’s agenda, especially extending his tax cuts from 2017.
He said that dismantling the Education Department would essentially be pointless because there would be insufficient savings to offset the tax cuts.
Kettl asked, “Is the [House] speaker willing to spend political capital to just move boxes and have very little to show for it, other than saying the department was abolished, without saving any money?”.
Donald K. According to Sherman, executive director and chief counsel of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics, a Washington-based legal advocacy group, Trump could undermine the department without changing a single function. He claimed the department could become a shadow of its former self if senior employees were let go, budgets were slashed, and the inspector general was fired.
Sherman stated, “Trump has already done a lot to weaken the department.”. People are feeling discouraged. The ultimate objective of their expulsion is to destroy a vital branch of the government. “”.
This report was compiled by Alice Crites and Matt Viser.