President Donald Trump is in the midst of a battle with the Department of Education, saying he wants it closed immediately. On Wednesday, February 12th, President Trump stated from the Oval Office that he wanted the Department of Education closed and how it is all a big “con-job.”
According to Greg Wehner from Fox News, the last time we checked the rankings for education, the U.S. was 38th, and now we are 40th. This caused a reaction from President Trump, who compared our education department to China’s (#5) and called China our “primary competitor.”
Elon Musk was brought in with DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) to cut costs, and wasteful spending decisions were made this week. $881 million was cut.
According to an NBC writer, Musk noted, “Your tax dollars were spent on this,” when discussing the current state of the Department of Education.
Becky Pringle, the president of the National Education Association, stated that these new executive orders will hurt people in vulnerable populations—specifically students and their families.
In a July campaign email from President Trump about his plan for the Department of Education, he says, “We will cut federal funding for any school or program pushing Critical Race Theory, gender ideology, or other inappropriate racial, sexual, or political content onto our children.”
Trump plans to implement school choice as a key focus. This is not the first time President Trump has addressed this cause. During his presidency in 2019, he held a roundtable meeting in the White House to talk to families about the role of choice in education.
During his current term, he plans to implement policies to address curriculum transparency and abolish tenure for teachers from grades K-12.
According to the campaign email, the President stated, “We will put PARENTS back in charge and give them the final say. It’s all about the parents and their children.”
Sixty votes are required in the U.S. Senate to abolish the Education Department fully. This is difficult because the Republicans need Democratic support, which they do not currently have. However, that could change in the near future.
