Could Trump axe the Department of Education? His plans explained
Getty ImagesPresident Donald Trump is mulling an executive order that would shut down the US Department of Education, according to the BBC's US partner CBS News.
The move would deliver on a promise he made on the campaign trail and end some of the department's programmes, while others would be housed within different parts of the government, CBS and other US outlets reported, citing anonymous sources.
Established in 1979, the Department of Education oversees funding for public schools, administers student loans and runs programmes to help low-income students.
Trump once accused the agency of "indoctrinating young people with inappropriate racial, sexual, and political material".
In December, he nominated former World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) CEO and his transition co-chair, Linda McMahon, as his pick for education secretary. But the Senate has yet to schedule confirmation proceedings for McMahon.
The latest news comes after Trump on Monday took steps toward dismantling the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the country's main overseas aid agency.
Can Trump shutter the department?
On his own, no.
Not only would Trump need congressional approval to get rid of the department, but he would also probably need a supermajority - 60 out of 100 senators.
While Republicans have a majority in the Senate, they do not have 60 members in the upper chamber, so they would need a few Democrats to vote to abolish the agency. There's zero chance of that.
Even in the House of Representatives, Trump would struggle to gain necessary support.
A vote last year to abolish the education department - which was attached as an amendment to another bill - failed to pass as 60 Republicans joined all Democrats in the House to vote no.
Still, Trump has moved to shrink other government departments in recent days, despite questions about the legality of those moves.
A draft of Trump's order to dismantle the education department, obtained by the Washington Post, acknowledges that only Congress can get rid of the agency outright, but the execution action directs the agency to begin to wind itself down.
Department employees are among those targeted by the administration's efforts to pressure federal workers into leaving their jobs.
What does the Department of Education do?
The Department of Education oversees student loan programmes and administers Pell grants that help low-income students attend university.
The department also helps fund programmes to support students with disabilities and for students living in poverty.
And it enforces civil rights law that prevents race or sex-based discrimination in federally funded schools.
The department's allocation was $238bn (£188bn) in fiscal year 2024 - under 2% of the total federal budget.
Why do Republicans want to abolish it?
The idea has been floated by Republicans for decades. During Ronald Reagan's 1980 presidential campaign, he pushed for it to be dismantled.
Republicans have accused the education department of pushing what they describe as "woke" political ideology on to children, including on gender and race. They want the agency's authority handed to the US states, which run most education matters.
Conservatives also argue that other education department functions, such as administering loans, should be handled instead by the US Department of Treasury, and that civil rights infractions are the Department of Justice's domain.
Trump's allies also want to expand school choice, which would allow students and families to select alternatives to public schools.
