The Dismantling of The Department of Education

 

President Trump ordered the dismantling of the Department of Education today.

President Trump issued an executive order aimed at shutting down the Department of Education. Although he can't eliminate the department without the approval of Congress, the administration can curtail and shut down most of the functions of the department. 

The department's 4,400 employees were cut in half since Trump took office, and certainly more firings will come as the department is dismantled. The DoE distributes federal financial aid for education, gathers data on US schools, identifies problems in the US education system and enforces federal laws with regard to education. 

Conservatives believe the DoE is solely responsible for US students underperforming in education. The executive order itself states, "Closing the Department of Education would provide children and their families the opportunity to escape a system that is failing them. Today, American reading and math scores are near historical lows. This year’s National Assessment of Educational Progress showed that 70 percent of 8th graders were below proficient in reading, and 72 percent were below proficient in math. The Federal education bureaucracy is not working."

The Department of Education plays no role in curriculum, library books, and the like. It provides certain funding for disabled students, manages student loans and grants, and gathers statistics. Until last month, it also conducted educational studies on education, to find more effective ways to teach all subjects. The education laboratories were shut down in federal government reductions.

The administration promises that all grants and loans from the department will remain intact, but says they may be taken over by other departments. At the time I am writing this, the DoE website is unresponsive.

Consolidation Of Supplies Procurement

In another executive order, Trump ordered that all agencies drop contracts for their day-to-day office and work supplies, and instead use the General Services Agency, which was created for that purpose. According to a fact sheet released along with the order, the GSA can obtain supplies more cheaply than the various agency contracts with vendors. This is a sensible attempt to cut government waste, as far as I can tell.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/eliminating-waste-and-saving-taxpayer-dollars-by-consolidating-procurement/

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/20/what-is-department-education-trump#:~:text=The%20Department%20of%20Education%20is,employs%20about%204%2C400%20staff%20members.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/03/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-eliminates-waste-and-saves-taxpayer-dollars-by-consolidating-procurement/

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/education-department-trump-what-is-next-student-loans-fafsa-rcna197302