Trump seeking to abolish Department of Education: report

President Donald Trump is expected to issue an executive order, possibly Thursday, aimed at abolishing the Department of Education, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The newspaper cited several people briefed on the matter and reviewed a draft of the order. 

It directs newly sworn Education Secretary Linda McMahon to “take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Education Department” based on “the maximum extent appropriate and permitted by law.” 

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“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,” the draft order reads. 

Shortly after taking her position, McMahon said she would “send education back to the states.” 

Trump has long talked about dismantling the Department of Education, saying it has failed America’s students. 

“It’s a big con job,” the president said in November. “They ranked the top countries in the world. We’re ranked No. 40, but we’re ranked No. 1 in one department: cost per pupil. So, we spend more per pupil than any other country in the world, but we’re ranked No. 40.”

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In a letter to Democratic members of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), McMahon said that she “wholeheartedly” agreed with Trump’s plan to abolish the department. 

With around 4,500 employees, the department is the smallest cabinet-level agency, the Wall Street Journal reported. It is currently offering an incentive of up to $25,000 to the majority of its staff to resign or retire by Monday evening ahead of rumored work force reductions.

“President Trump believes that the bureaucracy in Washington should be abolished so that we can return education to the states, where it belongs. I wholeheartedly support and agree with this mission,” McMahon wrote.

Under McMahon, the department will work from three base convictions, according to her letter: that parents are the primary decision makers in their children’s education, that taxpayer-funded education should refocus on “meaningful learning in math, reading, science, and history—not divisive DEI programs and gender ideology,” and that post-secondary education should be a path to a well-paying career aligned with workforce needs.

Fox News Digital’s Aubrie Spady contributed to this report.