If on April 2, the United States enjoys what President Donald Trump calls the day of liberation by applying reciprocal tariffs to all its trading partners, this Thursday, always in Trump's terminology, has been the day of educational liberation, with the signing of an executive order to close the Ministry or Department of Education. A campaign promise, a personal obsession of Trump in recent months, a long-sought goal by the most conservative wing of the conservative and Republican movement, which, under the argument of returning powers to the states, seeks to eliminate any federal oversight, control, and standards, giving freedom to regional governments to implement the policies they desire.
With his signature tonight (late in Washington), at an event with supporters, sympathizers, and state officials from his party, Trump instructs his Education Secretary, Linda McMahon, to take "all necessary measures to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return educational authority to the states," with the "uninterrupted provision of services, programs, and benefits on which Americans depend." The quotes, italics, details are important in this matter. Because, in reality, the federal department will not disappear but will be reduced to a minimum expression for fund management, even considering that 90% of the total is already in the hands of the states. Surrounded by students sitting at desks placed in the East Room of the White House, and praising teachers as one of America's treasures, Trump signed the executive order that, as he indicated, initiates the dismantling of the department "once and for all (...) We are going to close it, and we will do it as quickly as possible," he promised, telling his subordinate McMahon: "Hopefully, you won't be in the position for long, but we will find something else for you to do."
Why? Because the process is much more complicated than the White House would like. The Department of Education became part of the Executive Branch in 1979 at the behest of Congress, and complete elimination would or will require action by the legislative chambers, where the Republican Party holds the majority. In addition, the decision will immediately be challenged in court, as with every closure of institutions and agencies in recent weeks and every mass dismissal.
Trump has already dismissed the bulk of the staff, even though the Ministry oversees the transfer of billions of dollars in program funding. A few days ago, over 1,300 employees were notified of their dismissal. If voluntary departures are added, the staff has decreased from 4,133 to 2,183 workers since January 20. This will lead to lawsuits. Just last week, for example, a district judge in Maryland halted the closure of the Agency for International Development (USAID), after Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Elon Musk's lieutenants in DOGE, the entity created for these functions, got rid of almost all officials and their programs.
The Executive has used economic or efficiency arguments in recent days, stating that "despite a 245% increase in spending per student since the 1970s, math and reading scores have dropped to historic lows" or that "the Department of Education was founded in the 1970s, and since then, we have spent over three trillion dollars on this federal bureaucracy. What has been the return on that investment for the American taxpayer? Levels that are below ideal, below competent. The test results of our children are incredibly concerning in terms of reading, literacy, math, and science rates. The numbers show it, and the president is finally taking very necessary steps to bring education back to where it should be, that is, to educators closest to the students in their classrooms in their respective states."
But the underlying motive is not lost on anyone, despite the fact that the federal government does not have competencies in designing the school curriculum. Republicans have talked about closing Education or dreamed of it since the 80s, but as unions denounce, the idea became an absolute priority since the pandemic, when in the conservative and religious world, a movement crystallized for parental rights against school closures, online education, protocols on LGBTI students, and even vaccines.
What Republicans celebrate the most today is not the educational level or savings, but what Trump's order states: "Programs or activities that receive the remaining funds will not promote diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives (DEI) or gender ideology", says the White House argument. "In the Biden years, the Department of Education spent over 1 billion dollars on grants aimed at imposing radical ideologies in schools," and that is what they aim to combat by giving control to governors and state legislatures, mostly controlled by Republicans.
"Education will be much smaller than today. Student loans and scholarships will continue to be managed by the Department of Education. But we do not need to spend over three trillion dollars over a few decades on a department that is clearly failing in its initial intent to educate our students," explains the White House. Federal funding for students with disabilities or for low-income schools will remain unchanged, according to the order, while McMahon works on a plan to "bring these funds closer to the states, localities, and, most importantly, to the students."
The Department of Education administers various federal grant programs. The so-called Title I, with just over 18 billion, provides funds to primary and secondary schools with high poverty rates. The IDEA program, with 15.5 billion, helps cover the cost of educating students with disabilities. Student loans are undoubtedly the largest item, around 1.6 trillion dollars.
All of this is part of a much broader campaign in which ideology plays the leading role. For example, the Administration has frozen up to 400 million dollars in funds, programs, and grants to Columbia University in New York, "due to its inaction against persistent harassment of Jewish students." Or 175 million to the University of Pennsylvania due to the participation of a transgender athlete in its swimming program. The federal prosecutor in Washington D.C. sent a letter to the Dean of Law at Georgetown University, which belongs to the Jesuits, threatening that the Government would not hire any of its graduates if they did not stop teaching issues of equality or diversity in their subjects.
The Department of Education itself has initiated investigations at 52 universities in 41 states, accusing schools of using "racial preferences and stereotypes in their educational programs and activities," considering that their graduate programs violate the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by being associated with The PhD Project, a non-profit organization that helps underrepresented groups of students obtain doctorates in business programs. Not to mention the irregular detentions of some students for participating in or leading protests, accusing them of terrorist links.
These threats come shortly after sending a letter warning institutions to stop using "race-based preferences" in admissions, financial aid, hiring, training, and other areas, or risk losing federal funding. The directive specifically accused American educational institutions of discriminating against white and Asian students.
During her confirmation hearings, McMahon agreed with Democratic critics that only Congress can close Education, but she, following Trump's campaign promises, indicated that some functions could be transferred to other government agencies, which is controversial, as according to the legal opinion of some experts, that would also require approval from the chambers.
Closing the agency or transferring its operations as required by law would require 60 votes in favor in the Senate, something unthinkable, as Republicans only control 53 seats. In modern times, no modern president has ever unilaterally attempted to close a federal department. Agencies have disappeared, but always with the support of Congress and through legislation.