Trump Puts Parents First, Feds Last in Massive Education Shake-Up [WATCH]

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday aimed at significantly reducing the size and scope of the Department of Education, a move expected to trigger legal challenges and require Congressional approval.

The directive aligns with Trump’s long-standing position on limiting federal influence over education.

During his 2024 campaign, he pledged to cut down what he described as the federal government’s overreach in education, stating in September that he wanted to “stop the abuse of your taxpayer dollars to indoctrinate America’s youth.”

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“Everybody knows it’s right, and we have to get our children educated,” Trump said Thursday.

“We’re not doing well with the world of education in this country, and we haven’t for a long time.”

According to a White House fact sheet, the order is designed to “turn over education to families instead of bureaucracies.”

It instructs 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, while continuing to ensure the effective and uninterrupted delivery of services, programs, and benefits on which Americans rely.”

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However, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt clarified that the executive order would not entirely eliminate the agency but would significantly downsize it.

“It’s not going to be shut down,” Leavitt said.

“Pell Grants and student loans will still be run out of the department in Washington, D.C., but the great responsibility of educating our nation’s students will return to the states.”

The White House has yet to provide further clarification on what other functions the remaining agency would retain.

The move comes amid declining public confidence in the nation’s education system.

A Gallup poll released in February found that only 24% of Americans were satisfied with the quality of education in the U.S. as of January 2025, down from 37% in January 2017.

The White House has repeatedly criticized the state of U.S. education, citing declining test scores.

The 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), commonly referred to as the “Nation’s Report Card,” was released on January 27 and showed little improvement in math scores for eighth graders compared to 2022.

Reading scores dropped by two points at both the fourth and eighth-grade levels.

Established in 1979, the Department of Education is responsible for coordinating federal education programs, overseeing financial aid, and enforcing non-discrimination policies in schools.

Dismantling the agency entirely would require Congressional approval, as the executive branch does not have unilateral authority to eliminate a department under Article II of the U.S. Constitution.

The measure would need 60 votes to pass in the Senate, where Republicans currently hold only 53 seats.

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., who has long pushed for abolishing the department, suggested in a Wednesday post on X that the Senate could use the budget reconciliation process, which requires only 51 votes, to advance the measure.

Bravo! Congress should support President Trump’s bold agenda by passing my bill, HR 899 to Abolish the Department of Education. We could also use recisions and the budget reconciliation process, which only require 51 votes in the Senate, to back him up.https://t.co/bjLxGdmPiH pic.twitter.com/zG7a4sBBw9

— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) March 20, 2025

Massie introduced legislation on January 31 proposing to eliminate the Department of Education by December 2026.

Some senators have voiced support for Trump’s efforts.

“I agree with President Trump that the Department of Education has failed its mission,” Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

“Since the Department can only be shut down with Congressional approval, I will support the President’s goals by submitting legislation to accomplish this as soon as possible.”

Meanwhile, the administration has already begun making significant cuts. On March 11, the Department of Education announced plans to reduce its workforce by half from its current staff of just over 4,000 employees.

The executive order has drawn swift opposition from teachers’ unions and left-leaning organizations, with legal battles already underway.

“If successful, Trump’s continued actions will hurt all students by sending class sizes soaring, cutting job training programs, making higher education more expensive and out of reach for middle-class families, taking away special education services for students with disabilities, and gutting student civil rights protections,” National Education Association President Becky Pringle said in a statement.

Similarly, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) has urged Congress to resist efforts to dismantle the department.

Citing a February NPR/PBS News/Marist poll, the union noted that more than 60% of Americans “strongly oppose” eliminating the agency.

AFT President Randi Weingarten signaled the union’s intention to challenge the order in court, stating bluntly on Wednesday evening, “See you in court.”

Legal action has already begun. A coalition of 21 state attorneys general filed a lawsuit on March 13 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, arguing that the executive order and associated layoffs constitute “an unlawful violation of the separation of powers, and the Executive’s obligation to take care that the law be faithfully executed.”

With legal battles brewing and Congress divided, Trump’s effort to significantly curtail the Department of Education faces an uncertain path forward.

However, the administration appears determined to push forward with its agenda, setting the stage for a prolonged fight over the future of federal involvement in education.

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