(AFP) – US President Donald Trump will sign an order Thursday to start dismantling the Department of Education, fulfilling an election campaign pledge and a long-held dream of American conservatives. The Republican will issue the order during a White House ceremony — one of the most drastic steps yet in the brutal overhaul of the government that he is carrying out with the help of tech tycoon Elon Musk.
Trump has cast the move as necessary to save money and improve educational standards in the United States, saying they are lagging behind those in Europe and China. But education has been a battleground for decades in America’s culture wars, and Republicans have long wanted to remove control of it from the federal government. “He is saving America’s children with this action,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News ahead of the signing at 4:00 pm (2000 GMT). “The Department of Education has never educated a child. All it has ever done is stolen money from the taxpayers.”
His order on Thursday directs 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 draft obtained by AFP. Trump promised on the campaign trail to get rid of the department and devolve its powers to US states, in much the same way that has happened with abortion rights. Trump’s appointment of McMahon, the former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, to lead the department was widely seen as a sign that its days were numbered. Several Republican governors are expected to attend the signing ceremony.
By law, the Education Department — created in 1979 — cannot be shuttered without the approval of Congress, and Republicans do not have the votes to push that through. But Trump and his billionaire advisor Elon Musk have already dismantled several other agencies, effectively crippling them by slashing programs and employees. Educators and Democrats have slammed the move.
“Education is our country’s future. Mr. President, we will see you in court,” Randi Weingarten, head of the American Federation of Teachers, said on X. Tina Smith, the Democratic senator for Minnesota, said in a post aimed at Trump: “You can’t shut down the Department of Education — and you know it.” But the Heritage Foundation — the right-wing think-tank that has seen many of its “Project 2025” recommendations adopted by Trump — welcomed the signing. “It’s a beautiful day to dismantle the Department of Education,” it said on X.
Efforts were already underway to drastically downsize the department. McMahon issued a memo shortly after her swearing in on March 3 saying the agency would be beginning its “final mission.” The next week, she moved to halve the department’s staff. Traditionally, the federal government has had a limited role in education in the United States, with only about 13 percent of funding for primary and secondary schools coming from federal coffers, the rest being funded by states and local communities.
But federal funding is invaluable for low-income schools and students with special needs. And the federal government has been essential in enforcing key civil rights protections for students. Several key programs are to be spared, such as those providing grants to university students and funding for low-income schools across the country, US media reported.
Trump’s radical crackdown on the government is being spearheaded by Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), whose rapid actions have met pushback in courts for possibly exceeding executive authority. A similar move to dismantle the US Agency for International Development was halted on Monday by a federal judge, who said the push likely violated the Constitution.
– Danny KEMP
© 2024 AFP
