Latest in the series of sweeping actions, newly sworn in US President Donald Trump called for the immediate closure of the federal Department of Education on Wednesday, reiterating his desire to shut down the agency despite acknowledging the complexity of the process.
The Education Department, which oversees a range of educational support, employs over 4,200 people and has a budget that totaled $251 billion in the most recent year, according to a Reuters report.
Donald Trump had previously suggested he would seek to close the department through an executive order, though he recognised that achieving this goal would require support from Congress and teachers’ unions.
The proposed closure comes with consequences, potentially disrupting billions of dollars in funding for K-12 schools and college tuition assistance programmes, according to the report.
Trump’s efforts to change US govt ops
Donald Trump’s statement is the latest in the series of actions as part of his broader efforts to enact sweeping changes in US government operations during his first weeks in office.
Donald Trump has focused on reducing the size of the federal workforce and cutting costs, pushing for government employees to return to office jobs or leave, and targeting agencies like the US Agency for International Development (USAID) for closure.
“The Department of Education’s a big con job,” Reuters quoted Donald Trump telling reporters, doubling down on his long-standing criticism of the agency. Donald Trump added that Linda McMahon, his nominee for education secretary, had been tasked with overseeing the department’s closure.
This marks the second time Donald Trump has proposed ending the Education Department, having raised the issue during his first term from 2017 to 2021.
Congress, however, did not act on his previous proposals. Conservative think tanks advocating for the department’s abolition have suggested that other agencies could assume responsibility for managing educational aid programmes and oversight.
