President Trump signed an executive order to start closing the Department of Education. He says this will give power back to states and parents instead of Washington bureaucrats. Trump called the department a failure that wasted trillions of dollars while students fell behind.
Republican leaders cheered the move. Texas Governor Greg Abbott said education decisions belong at the state level. Indiana Governor Mike Braun praised Trump for letting parents control their kids’ schooling. Ohio Governor Mike DeWine said states know their students’ needs better than faraway politicians.
The order begins cutting staff and moving jobs to other agencies. Education Secretary Linda McMahon promised to “eliminate bureaucratic bloat.” Trump joked that he hopes she’ll be the “last secretary of education.” The plan keeps student loans and special education funding safe for now.
Conservatives say the Department of Education has hurt schools. Federal spending doubled since 1980, but test scores stayed flat. Eight in ten eighth graders can’t read or do math properly. Trump says letting states run schools will fix this mess.
Liberal groups are fighting back. Nearly two dozen Democratic attorneys general sued to stop the cuts. They claim Trump is breaking the law. But Republicans say Democrats care more about unions than kids.
Experts say this fulfills a 50-year Republican promise. The Manhattan Institute’s Christopher Rufo called it “an incredible moment in history.” School choice activist Corey DeAngelis said Trump is making education great again.
Parents tired of woke school policies support the change. They want classrooms focused on basics, not politics. The order bans federal money from going to programs pushing critical race theory or gender ideology.
Trump’s bold action shows he’s serious about draining the swamp. By tearing down this liberal power grab, he’s putting American families first. Education should be about kids – not government control.
