U.S. President Donald Trump indicators an govt order to close down the Division of Schooling, throughout an occasion within the East Room on the White Home in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 20, 2025.
REUTERS/Nathan Howard
President Trump’s govt order on Thursday directing Schooling Secretary Linda McMahon to close down the cupboard division she oversees drew fast backlash from New York Congressional Democrats.
Trump’s order instructs McMahon to return authority over schooling again to the states, in response to printed experiences. Nevertheless, completely eliminating the company requires an act of Congress, and whereas Democrats are within the minority in each chambers, they nonetheless have some leverage to dam the Republican effort.
The chief order comes as Trump has been making strikes to shrink the division’s purview and minimize its workers in half over the previous few days.
Home Democratic Minority Chief Hakeem Jeffries (Brooklyn) slammed the manager order as Trump taking a “chainsaw to public education in America.”
“Shutting down the Department of Education will harm millions of children in our nation’s public schools, their families and hardworking teachers,” Jeffries mentioned in an announcement. “Class sizes will soar, educators will be fired, special education programs will be cut, and college will get even more expensive, at a time when the cost of living is already too high.”
Jeffries pledged to face towards any Home Republican efforts advancing laws to shutter the division, despite the fact that the GOP holds the bulk within the Home.
“Shutting down the Department of Education will harm millions of children in our nation’s public schools, their families and hardworking teachers,” Home Minority Chief Hakeem Jeffries (D-Brooklyn) mentioned in an announcement.REUTERS/Annabelle Gordon
The US Division of Schooling was established in 1979 by the late President Jimmy Carter to manage nationwide schooling coverage and distribute federal schooling help. It additionally oversees particular schooling and English as a second language studying applications.
The company has lengthy been the goal of conservatives, who argue it’s pointless as a result of states and localities ought to run schooling coverage. A lot of the backlash in recent times has been pushed by college shutdowns throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
White Home Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed that the division would proceed to carry out its core capabilities, corresponding to imposing civil rights legal guidelines and distributing monetary help. However US Rep. Dan Goldman (D-Brooklyn), in an announcement, mentioned Leavitt’s remarks ring hole.
“While Trump claims this order won’t affect the Office for Civil Rights, he has already gutted nearly half of its staff and closed field offices in New York City and across the country, disrupting their essential work combating discrimination in schools and paving the way for hate — including antisemitism — to spread unchecked across our campuses,” Goldman mentioned.
Goldman added that dismantling the company would “throw student loan and financial aid programs into disarray, putting college and vocational training out of reach for working families nationwide.”
In the meantime, U.S. Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-Queens) mentioned Trump’s order “shows a blatant disregard for our democracy, as only Congress has the authority to abolish federal agencies.”
“Trump and Elon Musk have once again upended the lives of federal employees and harmed millions of people nationwide—all to cut government spending on essential services to fund tax breaks for the wealthy,” Meeks added. “The GOP assault on students will increase class sizes by laying off teachers, hurt children with disabilities and push college and job training out of reach.”
