Trump intends to issue orders to close education sector

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Donald Trump is preparing to issue an executive order Thursday directing his newly confirmed education secretary Linda McMahon to begin the process of shutting down the Department of Education, The Washington Post reported. She previously served as head of the Small Business Administration (SBA) during Trump’s first presidency, where she focused on supporting small businesses and deregulation. Despite no prior experience in education policy, Trump hired McMahon to lead the Department of Education as part of his efforts to reduce the federal government's role in education. Her appointment is in line with Trump’s long-term goal of eliminating or drastically narrowing the department and shifting control over education policy to individual states. Executive orders do not have the authority to directly close the department. That would require a Congressional bill, with the Senate having at least 60 votes; a difficult obstacle, as Republicans have only 53 seats. Instead, the order directed McMahon to do his best legally to reduce the role of the department and to transfer responsibilities elsewhere. Legally, many educational programs must remain within the department, with McMahon having limited options. However, the department has begun cutting staff, programs and grants and is expected to decrease soon. Officials warn that mass layoffs could happen in the near future. If the department is demolished, education supervision may be transferred to individual states. Currently, the education sector remains open, but major changes are likely to emerge as Trump pushes its closure.

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