President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday aimed at significantly reducing the Department of Education, a move expected to face legal challenges and require Congressional approval.
Trump, who has long advocated for cutting federal influence in education, reiterated his stance that education policy should be handled by individual states. Speaking at the White House, he emphasized that his administration’s goal is to curb what he calls the misuse of taxpayer funds in shaping students’ education.
“Everybody knows it’s right, and we have to get our children educated,” Trump said. “We’re not doing well in the world of education, and we haven’t for a long time.”
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According to a White House fact sheet, the executive order directs Education Secretary Linda McMahon to take necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education while ensuring the uninterrupted delivery of essential services. The document states that the directive aims to “turn over education to families instead of bureaucracies.”
However, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt clarified that the department would not be entirely dismantled but significantly reduced in size. Some of its key programs, such as Pell Grants and student loans, will continue to operate under a scaled-down version of the department based in Washington, D.C.
“It’s not going to be shut down,” Leavitt stated. “Pell Grants and student loans will still be run out of the department, but the great responsibility of educating our nation’s students will return to the states.”
Trump assured that programs supporting children with special needs would be preserved, though they would be transferred to other federal agencies. “They’re going to be preserved in full and redistributed to various other agencies and departments that will take very good care of them,” he said.
The announcement comes amid growing dissatisfaction with the U.S. education system. A Gallup Poll released in February indicated that only 24% of Americans are satisfied with the quality of education in 2025, a steep decline from 37% in 2017. Additionally, data from the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), known as the “Nation’s Report Card,” revealed stagnant eighth-grade math scores and a decline in reading scores for both fourth and eighth graders.
Trump argued that his plan would allow states to compete at a global level in education, citing countries like Norway, Denmark, and Sweden as benchmarks. “And then you’ll have some laggards, and we’ll work with them,” he added.
The Department of Education was established in 1979 to enhance federal coordination in education programs and support state and local school systems. It currently oversees student loans, financial aid programs, and nondiscrimination policies.
While Trump’s order is likely to draw legal challenges, it marks a significant step toward reshaping the federal government’s role in education and shifting authority to the states.
