Can Trump Dismantle the Department of Education? Here’s What to Know

Following the confirmation of Department of Education Secretary Linda McMahon, reports about President Donald Trump’s attempt to finalize an Executive Order that would attempt to dismantle the Department are resurfacing. The act would fulfill a campaign promise as he seeks to shrink the size of the federal government. But as Trump tests the limits of his presidential authority, experts say the abolishment of the agency would be difficult, though not impossible.

“You can't just drop a bomb on the Department of Education and turn it into rubble,” says Jonathan E. Collins, a professor of political science and education at Teachers College, Columbia University. “Legally, it has to start with Congress, not the President.”

Congress created the Department of Education, and only Congress can abolish it. Under the potential Executive Order, which was first reported by the Wall Street Journal, the President would seek to bar the Department of Education from performing functions that are not clearly outlined in any statutes. Officials are also considering how to move certain functions of the agency to different departments, sources told the Journal. The Executive Order would also reportedly call on Congress to approve efforts to dismantle the Education Department. 

During her confirmation hearing McMahon—who was the administrator of the Small Business Administration under Trump’s previous term and later chaired the pro-Trump super PAC America First Action—agreed that only Congress could dismantle the Education Department.

“[The Education Department] is set up by the United States Congress and we work with Congress. It clearly cannot be shut down without it,” McMahone said in response to a question from Sen. Bernie Sanders. But McMahon also indicated that the Education Department and funding for education are distinct.

The White House did not respond to TIME’s request for comment.

Much of the function of the Education Department involves administering programs that are funded through the federal budget, including Pell grants and federal work study programs, both of which provide financial assistance to students enrolled in higher education and are appropriated by Congress. The agency also oversees programs such Title I, which provides financial assistance to school districts serving low-income students. 

Given Congress’ authority, Collins says Trump would likely issue an Executive Order that doesn’t fully abolish the Education Department, and instead dials back the responsibilities of the agency. Experts note that regardless of what Trump attempts to do, many of the programs the Department of Education oversees have bipartisan support, like grants that provide funding for special education services for children with disabilities, and lawmakers have an interest in ensuring their local schools or universities do not lose funds for specific programs or students. Instead, the Trump Administration would have to find new homes for the funding streams that the Department oversees. “You can't just get rid of those funded programs,” says Josh Cowen, an education policy Michigan State University professor and author of The Privateers, How Billionaires Created a Culture War and Sold School Vouchers. “You have to have a very clear plan for which dollars are going where and to which agencies.”

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Plans for how to dismantle the Department are outlined in the Project 2025 playbook, a Heritage Foundation policy plan that Trump disavowed during the campaign but has since mirrored in many of his early actions. That document suggests transferring part of Title I to the Department of Health and Human Services for instance, and moving the Office of Federal Student Aid to “a new government corporation with professional governance and management.”

“All of this business is about testing the extent of presidential power and trying to expand it,” says Elaine Kamarck, a senior fellow at The Brookings Institution, a nonprofit that conducts nonpartisan research. “The courts are going to play a really big role here in determining whether or not they are undermining the separation of powers that's in the Constitution.”

Some lawmakers may be on board to support Trump in his endeavors. In January, Rep. Thomas Massie, a Republican from Kentucky, re-introduced a bill that would terminate the Department of Education. The bill has 31 Republican co-sponsors thus far. Conservative support for the abolishment of the Department is rooted in the idea that education is best decided by parents as opposed to the federal government, experts say. If a bill were to move forward in the House, the GOP would still have to pull in support from lawmakers outside of their 53-member Senate majority to reach the 60-vote threshold they need for the legislation to pass.

"Unelected bureaucrats in Washington, D.C. should not be in charge of our children’s intellectual and moral development," Massie said in a January press release about his bill. "States and local communities are best positioned to shape curricula that meet the needs of their students. Schools should be accountable. Parents have the right to choose the most appropriate educational opportunity for their children, including home school, public school, or private school."

McMahon doubled down with a similar sentiment. In a speech shared on March 3, she said that one of her main focuses was making parents the main “decision markers in their children’s education,” and that she sought to transfer “educational oversight to the states.”

But the Education Department itself does not dictate school curriculums, nor does the agency function as the main funding stream for public schools. Federal contributions for elementary and secondary education is around 8%, including money given to schools from other agencies such as the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture for school lunch and Head Start programs, per the Education Department. Instead, states rely heavily on local taxes to create and approve budgets for school districts across the country. Decisions about what students learn are also overwhelmingly made by local officials. On Feb. 5, five Democratic-leaning lawmakers, including Independent Senator Bernie Sanders and Sen. Tammy Baldwin, sent a letter to Denise Carter—who was then the acting Secretary of Education—outlining their concerns about Trump’s potential plans to gut the department.

“We will not stand by and allow the impact that dismantling the Department of Education would have on the nation’s students, parents, borrowers, educators, and communities. Congress created the Department to ensure all students in America have equal access to a high-quality education and that their civil rights are protected no matter their zip code,” the letter read. “We urge you to provide information on the steps the Department is taking to ensure the continuity of programs that Americans depend on, the ability of the Department to effectively administer programs for their intended purposes without waste, fraud and abuse, and the safeguards in place to protect student data privacy.”