President Donald Trump’s administration is preparing an executive order to begin dismantling the Education Department – while acknowledging the president lacks the authority to kill the agency entirely.
Trump vowed during the campaign to end what he called ‘wokeness’ and ‘indoctrination’ at the agency.
Now, as Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency is shutting down the congressionally authorized U.S. Agency for International Development with Trump’s approval, his administration will take steps to defund the federal Education Department.
The agency has long been a target for conservatives, going back to the 1994 ‘Republican revolution.’
‘I do not believe we need a federal department of homework checkers,’ former House Speaker New Gingrich, a Trump confidant, said back in 1995.
A White House official said on Monday, adding an announcement on the planned actions may come later in February.
The Wall Street Journal reported earlier that Trump advisers were considering executive actions to dismantle the Education Department as part of a campaign by billionaire Elon Musk and his allies to reduce the size of the government’s workforce.
Aides are preparing an executive order for President Donald Trump that would begin to dismantle the Education Department, a long quest for conservative budget cutters
It said U.S. officials have discussed an executive order that would ‘shut down all functions of the agency that aren’t written explicitly into statute or move certain functions to other departments.’
That suggests the officials have concluded Trump cannot get rid of the authorized and appropriated agency outright without buy-in from Congress, where Republicans hold narrow majorities in both houses.
It said the order would call for developing a legislative proposal to abolish the department – something Trump could ask his team to do even without issuing such a public order.
Musk’s team has already put people in placed current aides on leave. A government-wide pitch to 2 million federal workers is urging them to a deferred resignation that has them leaving the government September 30th.
Elon Musk, the world’s richest man who is heading the Department of Government Efficiency that Trump created, has people in place at the agency, where officials have already been put on leave
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Musk’s team has gained access to a financial aid dataset, the Washington Post reported. The data contains personal information on millions of student aid recipients. President Joe Biden forgave billions in student loan debt by issuing executive orders, infuriating Republicans.
The Education Department had no immediate comment. The Journal report added an announcement may come as early as Tuesday.
News of the effort at the Department of Education comes as Musk’s DOGE has told the Office of Personnel Management to plan for a 70 percent reduction in staff.
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Republicans were critical of the Education Department under former President Joe Biden, particularly over student loan forgiveness and policies related to diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
Trump has already issued executive orders to dismantle DEI programs across the federal government. ABC News reported on Monday that dozens of Department of Education employees received letters as business hours closed on Friday placing them on administrative leave.
Musk has been heading Trump’s drive to cut what the administration calls wasteful spending within the federal government.
Last week, Musk’s team at the Department of Government Efficiency gained access to the most sensitive payment systems at Treasury and, as Reuters reported, locked some federal career employees out of their agency’s own computers.
A senior White House official said on Monday that Musk was also helping Trump look at a revamp of U.S. foreign aid agency USAID.
The sixth largest federal agency has a $268 million budget, and provides funding for economically disadvantaged K-12 schools, supports special education, funds metrics and assessment, higher education funding, and federal student aid.
Student aid programs make up the bulk of its funding outlays.
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