President Trump is set to sign an executive order to eradicate the Department of Education as early as Thursday, according to a report.
Trump will reportedly use his executive powers to direct Education Secretary Linda McMahon to “take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Education Department” based on “the maximum extent appropriate and permitted by law,” according to the Wall Street Journal, which viewed the drafted order.
“The experiment of controlling American education through Federal programs and dollars–and the unaccountable bureaucrats those programs and dollars support–has failed our children, our teachers, and our families,” the draft order, which was labeled as “pre-decisional,” reads.
The order – which supports the president’s pledge to have the federal agency shuttered – has been in the works since Trump’s transition, the outlet reported.
The White House did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
McMahon, 76, who was confirmed along party lines Monday, cited the commander in chief’s upcoming move in an email to staffers mere hours after she was approved to head the department, the outlet reported, saying she would “send education back to the states.”
The World Wrestling Entertainment co-founder added that Trump and the American voters “tasked us with accomplishing the elimination of the bureaucratic bloat here at the Education Department – a momentous final mission – quickly and responsibly,” the outlet reported.
The 78-year-old president has also made no bones about his plans for the Education Department, telling reporters last month he hoped his nominee would “put herself out of a job.”
On the campaign trail, Trump regularly told supporters and reporters that he wanted to get back into office to eliminate the federal department – telling Time Magazine in December that he initially planned for at least a “virtual closure” of the agency.
“We will drain the government education swamp and stop the abuse of your taxpayer dollars to indoctrinate America’s youth with all sorts of things that you don’t want to have our youth hearing,” he said at a September rally in Wisconsin.
When he tapped McMahon to lead the department last November, Trump indicated that she would be tasked with giving states a larger role in education policy.
Republicans in Congress have also pointed to the abysmal national test scores as proof that the Department of Education, which spent about $268 billion last year, needs a major shake-up with McMahon at the helm.
The US currently ranks 20th out of 41 nations in education, according to an analysis by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, falling beneath Canada and many European countries.
American students’ test scores have also plummeted since the closure of classrooms during the COVID-19 pandemic — with reading proficiency for eighth-graders notching its lowest level in the 32 years the government has compiled such data.
McMahon herself has played coy about unilaterally dismantling the department.
She told members of the Senate HELP Committee in her confirmation hearing that the department’s elimination “certainly does require Congressional action” but there are plans to get buy-in from Republican lawmakers.
“We’d like to make sure that we are presenting a plan that I think our senators could get on board with, and our Congress could get on board with, that would have a better-functioning Department of Education,” she said.
Key programs involving Title I funding for low-income institutions, as well as Pell Grants and Public Service Loan Forgiveness will remain in place, McMahon promised.
McMahon also said she stood ready to abide by executive actions preventing transgender athletes from competing on women’s sports teams, cracking down on antisemitism on university campuses and abolishing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs.
Congressional Democrats have characterized Trump’s plans for the Education Department as an effort to “destroy” public schools for the benefit of billionaires who can buy up the nation’s educational institutions.
