Dems are Hyperventilating Over the Demise of the Department of Education [WATCH]

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday directing the dismantling of the U.S. Department of Education, triggering strong opposition from Democratic lawmakers and political allies across the country.

The move comes as part of the Trump administration’s broader effort to return authority over education policy to the states and reduce the size of the federal government. The executive order would begin the process of phasing out the department and shifting key responsibilities to individual states and local districts.

Reaction from Democrats was swift.

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Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) released a video message shortly before the executive order was signed, urging Americans to “stick together” and oppose the decision.

“I don’t care if you are a Democrat, a Republican, an Independent, a Libertarian, a vegetarian. We need you in this fight,” Warren said.

“This is the fight for an America where it’s not just rich kids who get an education and have a chance to build something with their lives, but that every kid in America gets the best education they can, so they can build the best lives. But the only way that’s going to happen is if we stay in this fight. It is a fight we can win.”

Donald Trump is trying to dismantle public education in America.

To every public school student, teacher, and parent: this is our moment to stick together and fight back. pic.twitter.com/wsC7ereS0u

— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) March 20, 2025

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Democratic strategist and former adviser to Vice President Kamala Harris, Mike Nellis, responded by encouraging Democrats to hold Republicans accountable for the consequences of the department’s closure, comparing the potential fallout to GOP criticism of the Affordable Care Act.

Democrats should blame everything that happens in public schools on Republicans for closing the Education Department, just like Republicans do with Obamacare and health care.

Make them own this—it’s an unpopular decision that only the far right was begging for.

A lot of kids…

— Mike Nellis (@MikeNellis) March 20, 2025

Chasten Buttigieg, husband of former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, also weighed in.

He accused Republicans of attempting to “take money from your kids’ schools to give tax breaks to billionaires.”

It’s simple. They’re going after the Department of Education to take money from your kids’ schools to give tax breaks to billionaires.

— Chasten Glezman Buttigieg (@Chasten) March 20, 2025

In Congress, Virginia Representatives Robert C. Scott and Gerald E. Connolly sent a letter to Education Secretary Linda McMahon objecting to the administration’s plan to lay off approximately 1,300 Department of Education employees.

They called the layoffs unlawful and referred to the affected workers as “illegally dismissed employees.”

The letter stated that the executive order would “have a negative impact on our kids” and called on the administration to “rescind this unlawful executive order, abandon these illegal reductions in force, and restore all employees improperly terminated.”

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries released a formal statement criticizing the administration’s actions.

“Shutting down the Department of Education will harm millions of children in our nation’s public schools, their families and hardworking teachers,” Jeffries said.

“Class sizes will soar, educators will be fired, special education programs will be cut and college will get even more expensive, at a time when the cost of living is already too high.”

Jeffries went on to claim that Republicans are “crashing the economy in real time” and prioritizing “massive tax breaks to billionaires” over support for students in public schools.

Representative Maxwell Frost (D-FL) echoed concerns from other Democrats about the legality of the executive order.

He stated that the White House “does not have the constitutional power to eliminate the Department of Education without the approval of Congress,” and accused the administration of trying to “defund and destabilize the agency to manufacture chaos and push their extremist agenda.”

Despite these objections, momentum in Congress appears to be growing for legislative action. Representative Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Senator Mike Rounds (R-SD) have introduced bills to eliminate the Department of Education.

With Republicans holding majorities in both chambers, the legislation could gain traction in the coming months.

The White House has not issued a formal response to the criticism but is expected to outline next steps in the implementation process in the coming days.

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