President Trump expected to drastically scale back Department of Education by executive order

The Trump administration is reportedly drafting an executive order that would make good on the president’s campaign promise to eliminate the federal Department of Education (DOE).

While the final text of the executive order has yet to be publicized, reports indicate it will direct the secretary of education to scale back the agency while the president urges Congress to formally legislate the end of the department.

President Donald Trump has nominated businesswoman Linda McMahon, chair of the America First Policy Institute and former head of the Small Business Administration (SBA), to serve as secretary of education and “put herself out of a job.”

McMahon faces a Senate confirmation hearing for the role on Thursday, where she is expected to undergo questioning regarding her alignment with President Trump’s education agenda and proposed elimination of DOE. 

Reports of the pending executive order come amid massive federal spending cuts orchestrated by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The initiative was established by executive order in January to “implement the President’s DOGE Agenda, by modernizing Federal technology and software to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity.” 

“Today, the Department of Education terminated 29 DEI training grants totaling $101mm,” DOGE stated via its official X account. “One sought to train teachers to ‘help students understand / interrogate the complex histories involved in oppression, and help students recognize areas of privilege and power on an individual and collective basis.’” 

In a follow-up post, Musk’s team wrote: “Also today, the Department Of Education terminated 89 contracts worth $881mm. One contractor was paid $1.5mm to ‘observe mailing and clerical operations’ at a mail center.” 

DOGE’s involvement in auditing agencies and cutting federal spending has stirred controversy, as critics of the Trump administration express hesitation regarding both the new agency’s unorthodox origins and actions. 

On Monday, 16 Democratic U.S. Senators initiated a probe into DOGE’s interactions with DOE, alleging Musk’s team have gained unauthorized access to federal student loan data and, by extension, the borrowers’ personal information.  

“This deeply troubling report raises questions about potential exposures of Americans’ private data,” the Senators wrote in a joint statement, adding, “We are especially troubled by this reporting given President Trump’s stated pledge to abolish the Department.” 

Despite the concerns from Democrats, however, experts familiar with the current state of the American education system have praised the proposal to eliminate DOE as a reasonable step forward. 

Even late-night talk show host Bill Maher surprised his guests, including Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Florida, by stating that American education statistics, “keep getting worse and worse and worse.” 

Maher added of the Department of Education: “I don’t know what it does, except take money. It’s sort of a middleman. It’s not like the kids are getting smarter.”