President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order as early as Thursday directing Education Secretary Linda McMahon to take steps to close the U.S. Department of Education, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal.
The draft order, which is labeled “pre-decisional” and subject to change, includes a statement criticizing federal oversight of education. “The experiment of controlling American education through Federal programs and dollars—and the unaccountable bureaucrats those programs and dollars support—has failed our children, our teachers, and our families,” it reads.
Eliminating the department has long been a favored proposal among conservatives. Following her Senate confirmation, McMahon reportedly sent an email to staff stating that she would “send education back to the states,” emphasizing that both Trump and American voters had entrusted her with the task of streamlining or eliminating the department’s bureaucracy.
The U.S. Department of Education was established by Congress in 1979 with the goal of strengthening federal support for equal educational opportunities and supplementing state efforts. In a 2023 campaign video, Trump had previously promised, “One other thing I’ll be doing very early in the administration is closing up the Department of Education in Washington, DC, and sending all education and education work and needs back to the states.”
While an executive order cannot unilaterally close a federal agency without congressional approval, the administration could potentially undermine the department’s functions and reassign its duties. The move comes amid broader efforts by the Trump administration to reduce federal spending and reshape domestic policy.
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