According to an ABC News report, senior Trump officials are readying an executive order that will begin the process of dismantling the Department of Education — a Trump campaign promise.
Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) head Elon Musk says Trump will succeed where former President Ronald Reagan did not.
From ABC News:
The proposed order gutting the agency is expected to call for the education secretary to submit a proposal for dismantling the department and for Congress to pass legislation to get rid of it.
The timing on when Trump plans to sign the order remains unclear, but sources familiar with the process told ABC News that conversations about the future of the department have been actively occurring.
Closing down the department would be an extraordinary move that would help Trump inch closer to fulfilling the promise that he made for months on the campaign trail: dismantling it and sending education policy back to the states.
But any executive action is likely to ask for a plan to shut down the department, but not an immediate directive to shut down the department, sources told ABC News.
“Reagan campaigned on ending the federal Dept of Education, which was created by Carter in 1979, but it was bigger when Reagan left office than when he started!” Musk said in response to a report from The Washington Post that Trump is eyeing an executive order to dismantle the agency.
“Not this time. President @realDonaldTrump will succeed,” he added.
Reagan campaigned on ending the federal Dept of Education, which was created by Carter in 1979, but it was bigger when Reagan left office than when he started!
Not this time. President @realDonaldTrump will succeed. pic.twitter.com/PO5MoqpBV1
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 4, 2025
During a recent appearance, President Trump said he would “shutdown the Department of Education and move everything back to the states where it belongs and where they can individualize education and do it with the love for their children.”
Watch the clip below:
The Department of Education’s budget for fiscal year 2025 is $82.4 billion, with an average salary of $112,164, 56% higher than the average government employee.
Since its formation in 1979, the US has gone from 1st to 34th in OECD ranking.pic.twitter.com/8s2gRXHCPc
— John LeFevre (@JohnLeFevre) February 3, 2025
Reports from The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post on Monday indicate that Trump is considering an executive order to weaken the department. However, further action is unlikely until after Linda McMahon, his nominee for Education Secretary, has her confirmation hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.
This story is developing…
