President Trump’s vision for the Department of Education appears to be its potential dismantling, with newly appointed Education Secretary Linda McMahon reportedly tasked to “put herself out of a job.”
The administration has already halved the department’s staff and is considering an executive order to close the agency entirely — though complete elimination would likely require congressional action.
The Education Department’s primary responsibilities include distributing billions in federal funding to schools and colleges and managing the $1.5 trillion federal student loan portfolio for over 40 million borrowers. It also oversees critical programs like Pell Grants and FAFSA applications.
Under Trump, significant changes are already underway. His adviser Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has terminated numerous contracts deemed “woke” and “wasteful,” while the Institute of Education Sciences — which collects national academic data — has been substantially reduced.
Trump has pledged to withhold federal funding from educational institutions that teach “critical race theory, transgender insanity, and other inappropriate racial, sexual or political content.” He’s also promised to reward states that end teacher tenure and support universal school choice.
The Office for Civil Rights, which investigates potential violations and provides guidance on civil rights laws, has been directed to prioritize antisemitism complaints above all others. Trump has described diversity and equity policies as “explicit unlawful discrimination” and pledged to exclude transgender students from Title IX protections.
The administration’s approach to accreditation has also shifted, with Trump vowing to fire “radical left accreditors” and seek new ones that “defend the American tradition.”
Critics worry about the fate of programs like Title I for low-income schools and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which fund essential services for vulnerable students. Though these federal funds constitute only about 14% of public school budgets, colleges rely more heavily on federal support through research grants and financial aid.
The Project 2025 blueprint suggests transferring oversight of programs for disadvantaged children and those with disabilities to the Department of Health and Human Services before eventually converting the funding to no-strings-attached state grants — a dramatic restructuring of federal education policy that would fundamentally alter the government’s role in American education.
Read more: Trump is dismantling the Education Department. Here’s what it does
This article is written with the assistance of generative artificial intelligence based solely on Washington Times original reporting and wire services. For more information, please read our AI policy or contact Ann Wog, Managing Editor for Digital, at awog@washingtontimes.com
The Washington Times AI Ethics Newsroom Committee can be reached at aispotlight@washingtontimes.com.
