Trump Orders Secretary McMahon to Dismantle Department
Education Authority to Be Returned to State Governments
U.S. President Donald Trump is set to sign an executive order on the 20th (local time) to dismantle the Department of Education, the White House announced.
According to the White House on the day, President Trump plans to direct Education Secretary Linda McMahon through the executive order to take all necessary measures to abolish the Department of Education and return educational authority to state governments.
White House spokesperson Caroline Leavitt told reporters, "The great responsibility of education, that is, the responsibility to educate our country's students, will return to the state governments."
President Trump has repeatedly advocated for the abolition of the Department of Education. In particular, he criticized the department for spreading the ideology of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), a policy emphasized during the previous Joe Biden administration, and called for its repeal. Amid a strong push for federal government restructuring, President Trump has already dismissed half of the Department of Education staff after his second term began and is known to have significantly reduced programs operated by the department.
However, completely abolishing the Department of Education requires congressional approval. Currently, in the U.S. Senate, Republicans hold 53 seats and Democrats 47 seats, but at least 60 votes are needed to abolish the department. Since Democrats do not agree with abolishing the Department of Education, it is expected that passing the measure through Congress will not be easy.
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