President Donald Trump has initiated dismantling the U.S. Department of Education, fulfilling one of his many campaign promises.

Trump signed an executive order calling for Education Secretary Linda McMahon to “take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education.”

“The experiment of controlling American education through Federal programs and dollars — and the unaccountable bureaucracy those programs and dollars support — has plainly failed our children, our teachers, and our families,” the order read. “Ultimately, the Department of Education’s main functions can, and should, be returned to the States.”

While completely closing the department requires congressional action, McMahon said Trump’s order will begin transferring power back to the states.

“He’s taking the bureaucracy out of education so more money flows to the states,” McMahon said. “Better education is closest, with parents, with local superintendents, with local school boards.”

Trump has criticized the department for declining student test scores despite increased spending.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt echoed that, saying, “What have we had as a result of that investment in our children’s education? Declining test scores in reading, writing and math.”

“The Department of Education has never educated a child,” she said. “All it has ever done is stolen money from the taxpayers for more regulation that has hurt our children’s education.”

The plan includes eliminating the department’s workforce and infrastructure, with key programs potentially moving to other federal agencies.

Pell Grants and student loans could be managed by the Treasury Department, programs for disabled students might shift to the Department of Health and Human Services and civil rights oversight and Title IX could be transferred to the Justice Department.

Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, expressed concern, saying, “Our concern is that you actually need somebody who knows what they’re doing about education and that’s why the Department of Education is the right place for this to happen.”

The National Education Association released a statement saying, “Donald Trump and Elon Musk have aimed their wrecking ball at public schools and the futures of the 50 million students in rural, suburban, and urban communities across America, by dismantling public education to pay for tax handouts for billionaires.”

To completely abolish the Department of Education, the proposal would need to overcome the 60-vote threshold of the Senate filibuster.

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