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‘An incredible moment in history’: Trump signature launches plan to dismantle Dept. of Education

March 21, 2025 | | Print Article

With the stroke of his signature, President Donald Trump began dismantling the bloated federal Department of Education.

A move that has taken decades to accomplish was executed Thursday at the White House as Trump signed an executive order to abolish the department, making good on a campaign promise and passing control back to the state and local levels.

Secretary of Education Linda McMahon joined the president’s side after the historic signing.

The visual drama of having several children sitting at desks behind him added to the powerful optics of the scene.

“Everybody knows it’s right. The Democrats know it’s right,” Trump said before signing the order.

“We’re going to be returning education, very simply, back to the states where it belongs, and this is a very popular thing to do, but much more importantly, it’s a common sense thing to do, and it’s going to work. Absolutely, it’s going to work,” he added.

Congress will still have to approve the measure that effectively eliminates the Department of Education, which was first established in 1979 under then-Democratic President Jimmy Carter.

Trump did what so many have failed to do before him as even former President Ronald Reagan tried to return to the Constitution and have states determine their own educational needs.

The order explains that  the experiment of controlling American education through Federal programs and dollars — and the unaccountable bureaucracy those programs and dollars support — has plainly failed our children, our teachers, and our families.”

“While the Department of Education does not educate anyone, it maintains a public relations office that includes over 80 staffers at a cost of more than $10 million per year,” it continues, noting that it “currently manages a student loan debt portfolio of more than $1.6 trillion.”

“I want to just make one little personal statement,” Trump added during his remarks. “Teachers, to me, are among the most important people in this country — and we’re going to take care of our teachers.”

Frieda Powers
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