Trump to sign executive action to dismantle the Education Department

President Trump is expected to sign a long-expected executive action Thursday calling on U.S. 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,” according to a fact sheet provided by the White House. Trump plans to sign the order at a ceremony alongside the Republican governors of Texas, Indiana, Florida and Ohio.

The move has been expected since early February, when the White House revealed its intentions but withheld the action until after McMahon’s Senate confirmation. It now arrives more than a week after the Trump administration has already begun sweeping layoffs at the Education Department.

According to the administration’s own numbers, Trump inherited a department with 4,133 employees. Nearly 600 workers have since chosen to leave, by resigning or retiring. And last week, 1,300 workers were told they would lose their jobs as part of a reduction-in-force. That leaves 2,183 staff at the department – roughly half the size it was just a few weeks ago.

USA Today was first to report news of Thursday’s signing.

Within hours of McMahon’s confirmation earlier this month, she shared a lengthy message with Education Department staff attempting to rally support for the department’s unwinding, calling it “our opportunity to perform one final, unforgettable public service to future generations of students.”

“What’s the end goal here? Destroying public education in America,” said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., in a statement. “The effects of Trump and [Trump advisor Elon] Musk’s slash and burn campaign will be felt across our state—by students and families who suffer from the loss of Department staff working to ensure their rights under federal law.”

Blaming the department for lackluster student achievement

According to The Nation’s Report Card, one of the oldest and most reliable barometers of student achievement in the U.S., reading scores changed little between 1992 and 2019, though math achievement improved considerably. The pandemic also wrought havoc on student achievement, with many learning gaps remaining five years after schools first closed to in-person learning.

At McMahon’s confirmation hearing, multiple senators asked whether the department’s dismantling would include cuts to these key, congressionally-required funding streams. McMahon assured them, “It is not the president’s goal to defund the programs. It was only to have it operate more efficiently.”

According to one senior administration official, the executive action will “ensure the effective and uninterrupted delivery of services, programs, and benefits on which Americans rely.”

The Education Department is prohibited by law from telling schools what, or how, to teach. Nor does it coordinate or control how states and districts handle even fundamental subjects, like math and reading.

Two rare success stories from the recent Nation’s Report Card – Alabama in math and Louisiana in reading – highlight just how much control states and local districts have over their educational destinies. After abysmal finishes in 2019 (Louisiana in 4th grade reading, Alabama in 4th grade math), both states implemented sweeping changes to help their districts improve – with a big assist from federal COVID relief funds. Both states showed remarkable improvement by 2024.