Secretary of Education Lays Out Department’s Demise

Secretary of Education Linda McMahon reaffirmed President Donald Trump’s commitment to dismantling the Department of Education, saying the administration is determined to follow all legal avenues to shut down the federal agency.

“I think he was correct in saying that we were going to do everything legally. That’s what he has said to me from the very beginning,” McMahon stated during an interview on Fox News’s ‘Special Report’ with Bret Baier on Thursday.

McMahon emphasized that Trump wants the process to move quickly, arguing that closing the department would allow more funding to be sent directly to the states rather than being wasted on federal bureaucracy.

“He would like for me to move as swiftly as we can because he believes the sooner that we can close the department, the more efficiently we can have funds distributed to the states, and perhaps they will even have more funding when there isn’t the overhead on bureaucracy from the Department of Education,” she added.

Trump Signs Executive Order to Begin Education Overhaul

On Thursday, Trump signed an executive order to begin dismantling the Department of Education, which was originally created under President Jimmy Carter.

“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,” Trump wrote.

“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,” he continued.

Despite taking decisive action, the administration has confirmed that it will wait for Congressional approval before finalizing the department’s closure.

“I want Congress to be a partner in this. And I believe they will be, because both sides of the aisle know that what is happening to education in our country cannot be allowed to stand because we are failing our students,” McMahon told Baier.

Congressional Support Grows for Education Reform

With Republicans in control of both the House and Senate, Trump’s proposal has strong legislative backing. Senator Bill Cassidy (R-La.) has already announced plans to introduce legislation that would codify the executive order.

Additionally, Trump has promised to reassign federal education funds, including Title I funding and Pell Grants, to other government agencies for oversight.

This effort echoes former President Ronald Reagan’s push in 1981 to eliminate the Department of Education, though Reagan ultimately settled for significant budget cuts instead.