President Trump may use his executive powers to gut the Department of Education and then push for legislation to abolish it as part of his administrationâs efforts to shrink the size of government, according to a report.
Trump administration officials are reportedly in talks about using an executive order to shut down nearly all of the agencyâs functions, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.
Under the potential executive order, certain functions written explicitly into statute would remain at the Department of Education while some programs would be moved to other agencies, according to the outlet.
The order would also call on congressional lawmakers to pass legislation that would formally dismantle the department, as an act of Congress would be required to completely eliminate it.
The Education Department is among the federal agencies that Department of Government Efficiency chief Elon Musk is eyeing major cuts for, according to the Wall Street Journal.
âThe president plans to fulfill the campaign promise by reevaluating the future of the Department of Education,â a White House official told The Post when asked about the report.
On the campaign trail, Trump regularly took issue with the Department of Education and pledged to have it shuttered, if elected.
At a September rally in Wisconsin, Trump told the crowd he is âdyingâ to get back into office to âeliminate the federal Department of Education.â
âWe will drain the government education swamp and stop the abuse of your taxpayer dollars to indoctrinate Americaâs youth with all sorts of things that you donât want to have our youth hearing,â he said.
In December, Trump told Time magazine that he planned for at least a âvirtual closureâ of the agency.
Some Trump administration officials, including those working with Education Secretary-designate Linda McMahon, have pushed for Trump to hold off on signing the potential executive order until after McMahonâs Senate confirmation hearing, according to the Wall Street Journal, over fears that it could imperil her nomination.
The Senate has yet to schedule McMahonâs hearing.
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.
âWe will send Education BACK TO THE STATES, and LINDA will spear head that effort,â the president said at the time.
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