Since the Presidential Inauguration on Jan. 20th, 2025, President Trump has signed over one hundred executive orders. Many of them have targeted bureaucratic agencies, including the United States Agency for International Development* (USAID), the Federal Emergency Management Agency** (FEMA), and most notably, the Department of Education (DOE).
During the 2024 presidential campaign, Trump promised his voters, “We will ultimately eliminate the federal Department of Education,” Trump explained during a rally in Mosinee, WI, “ and send education back to Wisconsin and back to the states.” This means that Trump would issue an executive order to give the authority of education back to state governments. This also means states do not have to implement “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” and gender ideology into their education systems.
Amidst his induction into office, Trump signed an executive order to officially start dismantling the Department of Education. Linda McMahon benign appointed as head of the department, would be responsible for the mass layoffs of federal employees and empowering the states to take control of their education systems. However, “dismantling” doesn’t mean eradicating the federal education system; it means that the powers of maintaining the education system would fall to the states. According to President Trump, the mass layoffs following his executive order are for efficiency and productivity and not a complete department shutdown.
However, President Trump does not have the authority to dismantle any bureaucratic agency, it must be done by Congress. After the Nov. 2024 Election, the Republican Party has a 3-seat majority in the House of Representatives and a 6-seat majority in the Senate; the possibility of a piece of legislation being passed by both chambers is very slim, especially if the law is dissolving a cabinet-level department.
On May 22, a federal judge blocked President Trump’s executive order in an attempt to dismantle the Department of Education. Justice Myong Joun, who blocked the order, said regarding the plaintiffs, “[they painted a] stark picture of the irreparable harm that will result from financial uncertainty and delay.” Justice Joun also summarized the plaintiffs’ argument for civil rights and the essential service of education.
The Department of Education was established in 1979 and has spent around $3 trillion on national education systems. According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, students have shown little improvement in their scores, which could show President Trump’s motivation to target the agency
*United States Agency for International Development (USAID) – established to promote global development and security by providing aid and economic assistance to foreign countries
**Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) – responsible for coordinating federal response to natural disasters in the United States. It aims to help with preparedness, mitigation, response, and recovery in the face of a natural disaster.
Works Cited
“Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Empowers Parents, States, and Communities to Improve Education Outcomes.” The White House, 20 Mar. 2025, https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/03/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-empowers-parents-states-and-communities-to-improve-education-outcomes/.
Binkley, Collin. “Trump Orders Plan to Dismantle Education Department.” AP News, 20 Mar. 2025, https://apnews.com/article/trump-education-department-shutdown-b1d25a2e1bdcd24cfde8ad8b655b9843.
Binkley, Collin. “Judge Blocks Trump’s Executive Order to Dismantle Education Department.” PBS NewsHour, 22 May 2025, https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/judge-blocks-trumps-executive-order-to-dismantle-education-department.
“Judge Blocks Trump’s Orders to Dismantle the Education Department and Fire Employees.” AP News, 22 May 2025, https://apnews.com/article/576eef90c30fdaeb660f7f66644bad10.
“Abolishing a Federal Agency: The Interstate Commerce Commission.” Congressional Research Service, 2023, https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R47897.
