Surrounded by school children of all ages, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to start the dismantling of the ‘no good’ Department of Education.
‘We’re going to shut it down and shut it down as quickly as possible. It’s doing us no good,’ Trump said at an event in the East Room filled with conservatives.
‘The United States spends more money in education by far than any other country, and spends, likewise, by far more money per pupil than any country. And it’s not even close, but yet we rank near the bottom of the list in terms of success,’ he noted.
‘We have to get our children educated.’
As he signed the executive order at his desk, the children, sitting at school desks on each side of him, opened their folders and signed their own version of the order.
Then Trump and the children held up their folders to show off their signature. The audience – which included Rep. Virginia Foxx, Texas Governor Gregg Abbott, and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis – gave a standing ovation.
The president also praised Linda McMahon, inviting her up to stand with him, and said he hopes ‘she will be our last Secretary of Education.’
The Department of Education, founded in the 1970s, has long been a target for conservatives, who want to see education policy returned to the states. Trump, during his presidential campaign, repeatedly vowed to end the department.
He and Elon Musk, who is heading DOGE, are on a mission to cut the government.
Completely dismantling the department is most likely impossible without an act of Congress but the president can significantly cut it.
Pell grants and student loans will still be run out of the department, as will civil rights issues and mediations.
But Trump said those will eventually be moved to other parts of the government.
‘They’re going to be preserved in full and redistributed to various other agencies and departments that will take very good care of them,’ he said.
The president also pointed to the Republican governors in the audience – Indiana Governor Mike Braun, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, and Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds were also there – and said they would do a better job of educating the children in their states.
‘We want to return our students to the states where just some of the governors here are so happy about this. They want education to come back to them, to come back to the States, and they’re going to do a phenomenal job,’ he noted.
The U.S. ranks eighth out of 41 countries in education.
The Education Department sends billions of dollars a year to schools and oversees $1.6 trillion in federal student loans.
Currently, much of the agency’s work revolves around managing money — both its extensive student loan portfolio and a range of aid programs for colleges and school districts, like school meals and support for homeless students.
Trump said his plan to return education to the states is ‘going to work. Absolutely it’s going to work.’
He said he expected the change to result in the U.S. ranking among the highest in education – along with Denmark, Sweden, and Finland.
He noted that ‘probably the cost will be half, and the education will be maybe many, many times better. So we look forward to this.’
Democrats have been heavily critical of his move.
‘Trump, Musk and the GOP are gutting the Department of Education—axing teachers’ jobs, slashing support for students with disabilities and pushing college out of reach—all to bankroll billionaire tax cuts. America’s future is not for sale. Our kids deserve better,’ Nancy Pelosi wrote on X.
Trump, however, vowed to take care of teachers.
‘I want to just make one little personal statement, teachers, to me, are among the most important people in this country, and we’re going to take care of our teachers and take actually better care of them,’ he said.
‘We’re going to love and cherish our teachers along with our children, and they’re going to work with the parents, and they’re going to work with everybody else, and it’s going to be an amazing thing to watch, and it’s really going to be something special.’
