Trump will reportedly sign executive order to eliminate the Department of Education

President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order to end the Department of Education, according to several news media reports.

Trump will sign the order at a White House ceremony with several Republican governors and state education commissioners, according to USA Today, which cited several top administration officials.

The order would ’empower parents, states, and communities to take control and improve outcomes for all students.’

The president is expected to order Education Secretary Linda McMahon to take “all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return education authority to the States.”

Critics are likely to challenge the order on the basis that congressional approval is necessary to close the department and take the issue to the courts. Other acts of the president have been shut down by various judges, and appeals may lead to the U.S. Supreme Court.

White House principal deputy press secretary Harrison Fields told USA Today that the order would “empower parents, states, and communities to take control and improve outcomes for all students.”

He cited recent results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress exam that showed a national education crisis.

“Our children are falling behind,” he added.

Also on Wednesday, Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis argued in an op-ed in the Washington Post that it is time to end the department.

“Abolishing the department and reinvigorating state control of education would enable states like Florida to serve better the needs of students, parents, and teachers,” he wrote in part.

“Abolishing the U.S. Department of Education is a necessary step to unleash states to reach their full potential and copy the successful Florida model,” he added. “President Trump will demonstrate leadership by following through on a four-decade-old Republican campaign promise. Then the states can get to work — and the prospects for student achievement will brighten.”

Democrats have vehemently opposed proposals to eliminate the Education Department. They have argued that doing so would end vital funding for resources for students across the country.

“Dismantling the Department of Education has nothing to do with improving outcomes for our kids, it’s simply about taking away resources from our public schools,” said Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D).

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