Education Secretary Linda McMahon is preparing to shut down the Department of Education by pledging to work with Congress and state leaders to “eliminate the bureaucracy responsibly” in a memo obtained by the Daily Caller as Trump signs an executive order aimed at dismantling her office.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday that directs McMahon to take “all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return education authority to the States.” In her first comments on the executive order, obtained exclusively by the Daily Caller, McMahon explains that the department “will continue to support K-12 students, students with special needs, college student borrowers, and others” while working with the states to give them control over education.
“Closing the Department does not mean cutting off funds from those who depend on them — we will continue to support K-12 students, students with special needs, college student borrowers, and others who rely on essential programs. We’re going to follow the law and eliminate the bureaucracy responsibly by working with Congress and state leaders to ensure a lawful and orderly transition,” McMahon says in her statement.
“With today’s action, we take a significant step forward to give parents and states control over their children’s education. Teachers will be unshackled from burdensome regulations and paperwork, empowering them to get back to teaching basic subjects. Taxpayers will no longer be burdened with tens of billions of dollars of waste on progressive social experiments and obsolete programs. K-12 and college students will be relieved of the drudgery caused by administrative burdens — and positioned to achieve success in a future career they love,” she continues.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to be Secretary of Education Linda McMahon arrives to meet with Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) in the Russell Senate Office Building on December 09, 2024 in Washington, DC. Trump’s nominees for his upcoming administration continue to visit Capitol Hill and meet with senators. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
The executive order does not abolish the department, but rather sizes it down as it calls for “uninterrupted delivery of services, programs, and benefits on which Americans rely.”
Abolishing the department would require Congressional approval. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told the Daily Caller that the president would later address whether he wants Congress to codify his executive order.
“Today’s Executive Order is a history-making action by President Trump to free future generations of American students and forge opportunities for their success,” McMahon writes.
“We are sending education back to the states where it so rightly belongs. Education is fundamentally a state responsibility. Instead of filtering resources through layers of federal red tape, we will empower states to take charge and advocate for and implement what is best for students, families, and educators in their communities,” she continues.
🚨 Daily Caller White House Correspondent @reaganreese_ asks Press Sec. Karoline Leavitt about abolishing the Department of Education 🚨
REESE: “Is the Administration asking Congress to codify Trump’s executive order to abolish the department?”
LEAVITT: “I’ll leave it to the… pic.twitter.com/peEmQTzUJB
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) March 20, 2025
Trump is expected to sign an executive order aimed at closing the Department of Education today.
In attendance at the invitation of the White House will be:
— Neeraja Deshpande, policy analyst and engagement coordinator for @IWF‘s Education Freedom Center,
— Stephanie…
— Reagan Reese (@reaganreese_) March 20, 2025
White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Harrison Fields told USA Today that the order “will empower parents, states, and communities to take control and improve outcomes for all students.” Fields also pointed to the latest National Assessment of Educational Progress data as a reason why the department needs to be paired down. (RELATED: Soaring Levels Of Non-English Speaking Students May Be Driving National Reading Test Scores Into Ground)
In January, new National Assessment of Educational Progress data showed that in 2024, one-third of eighth graders, the largest percentage on record, failed to reach reading level expectations. Students’ scores in reading have been on a decline since 2019.
Linda McMahon, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be Secretary of Education, leaves after testifying alongside (L-R) Shane McMahon, Paul Levesque, and Stephanie McMahon during her Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee confirmation hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on February 13, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
“Since 1979, the U.S. Department of Education has spent over $3 trillion with virtually nothing to show for it,” the White House wrote in a fact sheet. “Despite per-pupil spending having increased by more than 245% over that period, there has been virtually no measurable improvement in student achievement.”
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