Washington — President Trump announced the signing of an executive order that would begin the process of dismantling the Department of Education “once and for all.”
“We’re going to eliminate it, and everybody knows it’s right,” the president said of the department at the White House Thursday. He added, “We’re not doing well with the world of education in this country, and we haven’t for a long time.”
The U.S. spends “more money per pupil, yet we rank near the bottom of the list in terms of success,” Mr. Trump said.
He claimed that 70% of eighth graders “are not proficient in either reading or math,” and “40% of fourth graders lack even basic reading skills.” The president said that the administration would be returning education “back to the states, where it belongs.”
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After he signed the executive order, flanked by schoolchildren at desks on either side of him, the president held it up and invited Education Secretary Linda McMahon to stand with him on stage. Several Republican governors were on hand for the signing, too, including Governors Ron DeSantis of Florida, Mike DeWine of Ohio, Michael Braun of Indiana, Gregg Abbott of Texas and Kim Reynolds of Iowa.
In the two months since Mr. Trump took office, the Education Department’s staff has already been slashed in half, and the administration is making plans to transfer some of its functions to other departments.
Despite the president’s rhetoric, fully eliminating the Department of Education would require an act of Congress. To advance most legislation in the Senate requires 60 votes, meaning seven Democrats would need to vote for it along with all Republicans.
During the signing ceremony, Mr. Trump seemed to acknowledge that he’ll need the backing of some Democratic lawmakers: “I hope they’re going to be voting for it because ultimately, it may come before them.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday on Fox News, ahead of the signing, that the Education Department would be much smaller than it is currently.
A White House official told CBS News on Wednesday that the following services will not be affected by the order: Student loans, Pell grants and Title I, which provides financial assistance to school districts for children from low-income families, and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
A White House official said Thursday that student loans, IDEA enforcement, and enforcing civil rights laws will remain at a smaller Education Department “for now,” but they will eventually be transferred to other departments.
Upon naming Linda McMahon as education secretary, Mr. Trump said he wanted her to “put herself out of a job.” After she was confirmed by the Senate earlier this month, she sent a letter to the department titled “Our Department’s Final Mission,” saying Mr. Trump had “tasked us with accomplishing the elimination of bureaucratic bloat here at the Department of Education — a momentous final mission — quickly and responsibly.”
Mr. Trump said Thursday that “hopefully she will be the last secretary of education.”
Nearly two dozen Democratic attorneys general last week filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration to halt its efforts to slash the Education Department’s workforce, calling it unconstitutional.
Olivia Rinaldi and
contributed to this report.