WASHINGTON, DC – JUNE 18: U.S. President Donald Trump holds up an executive order that he signed … [+]
Getty ImagesConfirmation Of Trump’s Imminent Action To Dismantle Education Department
A leaked internal memo has confirmed that President Donald Trump intends to dismantle the Education Department via executive order imminently. Federal News Network first reported the draft, revealing that “the department is preparing to notify its employees that President Donald Trump will sign an executive order, entitled, ‘Eliminating the Department of Education.’” The draft memo divulges that Education Department staff are actively preparing for the agency’s dismantling, even going so far as to plan to reassign its functions to other federal bodies ahead of Trump’s order to eliminate the department. According to the memo, Trump’s long-promised goal of shutting down the Education Department will move forward. The memo’s disclosure marks the most concrete evidence that the administration is expediting efforts to shut down the agency.
So far, Federal News Network is the only news outlet reporting on the memo, which may not be unusual given that it obtained it. The news agency has received high marks for credibility and factual reporting as well as a “least biased” designation from MediaBiasFactCheck, a website widely used to assess political bias and factuality of a source. The draft memo is also corroborated by coverage from early February in which many news outlets, including CNN, reported that Trump was drafting this executive order. The leaked memo also follows the Senate’s confirmation of Education Secretary Linda McMahon and her immediate speech to the Education Department about its “final mission.”
What The Memo Says About Education Department Elimination
The unsigned draft memo states that Trump’s upcoming executive order gives Education Department employees a “clear and final mission.” Here are some of the memo’s key lines, from FNN’s reporting.
- “We are to identify which of the Department’s functions, programs, and offices are not mandated by statute, and eliminate them.”
- “This reorganization will impact staff, budgets, reporting, and more — and in coming months, we will determine how it can be accomplished with minimal delay and disruption.”
- FNN notes that “the memo also states that Trump has also tasked the Education Department with creating a plan to reallocate and reassign its functions ‘that would be more effectively managed by other agencies.'”
- Trump’s executive action will “reduce the Department’s role in education.”
- “The elimination of bureaucracy should free us, not limit us, in pursuing these goals. Removing red tape and bureaucratic barriers will empower parents to make the best educational choices for their children.”
Leaked Education Department Memo Follows McMahon’s ‘Final Mission’ Speech
This leaked confirmation comes on the heels of Education Secretary Linda McMahon’s striking “Final Mission” message to department employees, delivered just after her Senate confirmation this week. In that memo, McMahon informed staff that she had been tasked with a “momentous final mission” to “send education back to the states” and eliminate “bureaucratic bloat” in the agency. “Our job is to respect the will of the American people and the President they elected, who has tasked us with accomplishing the elimination of bureaucratic bloat here at the Department of Education – a momentous final mission – quickly and responsibly,” McMahon wrote the message circulated to all employees. The Education Secretary emphasized a “new era of accountability” as she oversees Trump’s directive to dismantle the department. Notably, Trump himself has said he wants McMahon to “put herself out of a job” by permanently closing the Department of Education – underscoring that her ultimate objective as Secretary is to work herself out of a role.
Trump’s Longstanding Intent to Abolish the Education Department
The push to shutter the Education Department is not a sudden development, but the culmination of Trump’s longstanding intent to drastically shrink or eliminate the agency. In early February, The Washington Post revealed that a draft executive order was circulating to “eventually close the Education Department and, in the short term, dismantle it from within,” according to sources familiar with the document.
That draft acknowledged a critical reality: only Congress can formally abolish a Cabinet-level department. As such, Trump’s order would not extinguish the agency overnight; instead, it would direct Education Department leaders to begin winding down operations and shrinking the department’s footprint. Indeed, even before McMahon’s arrival, the administration had reportedly begun diminishing the department by placing dozens of employees on administrative leave and pressuring staff to leave voluntarily.
This approach mirrors in some ways Trump’s actions during his first term with the Office of Science and Technology. Despite the OSTP being a congressionally chartered office, Trump effectively dismantled its operations it by drastically cutting its funding, dramatically decreasing its staffing levels, and leaving the director position vacant for two years. Under President Obama, the office had around 135 employees. During Trump’s first year, that number dropped to 35 and 45 staff members, according to CBS News.
In early February, multiple outlets confirmed that Trump’s team was drafting an executive order to initiate the elimination of the Education Department. According to CNN’s reporting, the plan would unfold in two phases: first, instruct McMahon to draw up a blueprint to scale down the department via executive action, and second, push Congress to pass legislation to dismantle the agency permanently. Trump explicitly reinforced this two-pronged approach, telling supporters that while he could start the process, he would need lawmakers to finish the job. “I told Linda, ‘Linda, I hope you do a great job in putting yourself out of a job.’ I want her to put herself out of a job – Education Department,” Trump said, explaining that McMahon’s mandate was to make the department obsolete.
Legal and Congressional Hurdles To Education Department Elimination
Despite Trump’s determination, fully and permanently dissolving a federal department is easier said than done. Legally, a U.S. president cannot abolish an entire Cabinet department unilaterally – that power rests with Congress. Trump’s executive order can set the process in motion and reorganize the Education Department’s functions, but ultimately, lawmakers would have to enact legislation to officially eliminate the agency. This separation of powers is acknowledged in the draft order itself, which concedes that Congressional approval is needed and thus focuses on steps to gradually dismantle the department internally.
Winning over Congress poses a steep challenge. Even though Republicans control the House, there is no guarantee that all GOP lawmakers – let alone Democrats – would support closing the Department of Education. Recent history suggests considerable resistance. In 2023, a majority in the House (including 60 Republicans) voted against a proposal that merely expressed support for abolishing the Education Department, according to NBC News. The measure failed resoundingly. Many lawmakers are wary of a backlash from constituents, given that polls show most Americans oppose the idea of altogether ending the department. For Republicans from swing districts or those concerned about disrupting federal education funds in their states, siding with Trump on this issue could be politically perilous.
Education Department Outlook
The leaked memo from the Education Department is the most concrete evidence we have to date that Trump is imminently planning to shudder the agency. The executive order to begin unwinding the department is expected to be formally signed shortly, barring any eleventh-hour changes. Stakeholders nationwide – from school administrators to student loan borrowers – are bracing for continued disruption as the federal role in schooling is redefined.
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