(Adnkronos) – Donald Trump is ready to sign, perhaps as early as today, a new executive order instructing Education Secretary Linda McMahon to work to close the department she now heads. The Washington Post writes, citing a draft of the order which, while acknowledging that abolishing the department requires congressional approval, and in particular 60 votes in the Senate where Republicans control 53 seats, states that McMahon will have to “take all necessary steps” to facilitate the closure “to the fullest extent permitted by law.”
The recipe for proceeding this way is that of the axe, or the chainsaw gifted by Javier Milei, which Elon Musk and his Office of Government Efficiency, Doge, have been wielding against the federal government for a month and a half: drastic staff cuts – which have already been announced – of programs and funding.
Trump’s order comes as no surprise: the tycoon reiterated in his election campaign his intention to close the Department of Education, which has also long been a dream of the Republican right, with the slogan of returning control of education to states and local communities. In reality, in the United States, the entire school curriculum, along with public universities and colleges, is already almost entirely controlled by the individual states.
The federal government sets guidelines, manages and administers federal funds, often making them conditional on compliance with the former. In particular, the department manages $18.4 billion in federal programs to help students from the poorest families and $15.5 billion for students with disabilities. It also oversees $1.6 trillion in student loans.
The America Federation of Teachers immediately denounced the move: “The attempt to abolish the department, which only Congress can do, sends the message that the president is not interested in giving all children a chance,” said President Randi Weingarten, who however did not close the door to the idea of streamlining the system: “Nobody likes bureaucracy and everyone wants more efficiency, let’s find a way to get it.”
McMahon, the 76-year-old billionaire who headed World Wrestling Entertainment, acknowledged in confirmation hearings that the department cannot be closed without congressional approval, but suggested that several of its functions could be moved to other agencies. Although, experts warn, citing a number of laws, even these moves could require congressional approval.
