Donald Trump signs executive order to ‘take away’ Department of Education | Donald Trump News

United States Pdwellnt Donald Trump has made outstanding on a campaign promise to commence shuttering the Department of Education, though his efforts are awaited to face court disputes and constitutional barriers.

On Thursday, the Reuncoveran directer held an broaden ceremony to sign an executive order that would set in motion the department’s demise.

A semi-circle of children were structured in desks around the pdwellnt, each with their own version of the executive order to sign. When Trump uncapped his labeler to sign the order, the children chaseed suit. When he lifted up the finishd order for the cameras, so too did the kids.

“I will sign an executive order to commence eliminating the Federal Department of Education once and for all,” Trump shelp in relabels before the signing ceremony.

“And it sounds strange, doesn’t it? Department of Education, we’re going to take away it, and everybody understands it’s right, and the Democrats understand it’s right.”

But Democrats and education helps speedyly denounced the action as not only another example of pdwellntial overachieve but as an effort that would harm students apass the country.

“Atenticeing to dismantle the Department of Education is one of the most destructive and dehugeating steps Donald Trump has ever getn. This. Will. Hurt. Kids,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer wrote on social media wilean minutes of the ceremony.

The order called for Secretary of Education Linda McMahon, a lengthytime Trump associate, to “get all essential steps” to support the department’s clobrave, which must be finishorsed by Congress.

The Department of Education was set uped in 1979 under Pdwellnt Jimmy Carter, as part of an effort to verifyate various education initiatives wilean the federal rulement. In doing so, he originated a novel cabinet-level position, someleang Reuncoverans even then talk aboutd would leach power away from states and local school boards.

The department, however, has a restrictcessitate mandate. It does not set curriculums or school programming but rather intensifyes on collecting data on education, disseminating research, distributing federal help and enforcing anti-prejudice meabraves.

Trump bemoans test scores

Still, Trump has repeatedly held the department reliable for low educational accomplishment in US schools, an declareion experts say is misdirecting.

“ We’re not doing well with the world of education in this country. And we haven’t for a lengthy time,” Trump shelp at Thursday’s ceremony.

The US does indeed trail other countries in global standardised test scores – but it is by no uncomardents last, as Trump has sometimes declareed.

The Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), an international metric for education standards, has set up that American students rank as standard in their test scores: above countries enjoy Mexico and Brazil but below places enjoy Singapore, Japan and Canada.

Test scores had deteriorated in mathematics from 2018 to 2022, someleang PISA attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic. But accomplishments in reading and science remained firm.

Trump, uncomardentwhile, also tied the Department of Education to his wideer campaign to cut alleged misengage and fraud in the federal rulement, including thraw expansivespread layoffs.

He elucidateed from the podium on Thursday that he had recommended buyout recommends to Education Department engageees.

“ We’ve cut the number of bureaucrats in half. Fifty percent have getn recommends,” Trump shelp to applause.

He compriseed that the engageees consisted of “ a petite handful of Democrats and others that we have engageed for a lengthy time – and there are some Reuncoverans, but not too many, I have to be honest with you.”

Trump has previously pledged to banish all “Biden bureaucrats” and inshigh promisedists instead.

Critics, however, say he has aimed nonpartisan civil service members with his layoffs, many of whom help protect rulement stability from administration to administration.

One Trump associate who hazards losing their position under the department shake-up is McMahon, the establisher CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment.

Trump, however, repromised her from the podium on Thursday that she would remain in his rulement: “We’re going to find someleang else for you, Linda.”

Does Trump have the authority?

Despite his executive order, Trump cannot individual-handedly shutter the Department of Education.

Only Congress can establishassociate shut down a cabinet-level department. But already, Reuncoverans enjoy Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana have stepped forward to commence legislative proceedings.

“I concur with Pdwellnt Trump that the Department of Education has flunked its ignoreion,” Cassidy shelp in a novels free.

“Since the Department can only be shut down with congressional approval, I will help the Pdwellnt’s goals by produceting legislation to accomplish this as soon as possible.”

But if such legislation is presentd, it would awaited not originate enough help to achieve the threshgreater of 60 votes necessitateed to loss the filibuster in the 100-seat Senate.

“The Reuncoverans don’t have that,” shelp Al Jazeera correactent Shihab Rattansi, telling from Washington, DC. The Reuncoverans only have a 53-seat presentantity.

Still, Rattansi foresees the publish will awaited finish up before the Supreme Court, as education helps ready to mount lhorrible disputes.

The Education Department, Rattansi elucidateed, “is thought of as relatively low-hanging fruit” as the Trump administration tries to broaden its executive achieve.

“They have a very expansive see of executive power. They want to test that in court,” he shelp.

Part of the reason for its vulnerability is that the department is relatively lesser: It was set uped wilean the last half-century.

But Rattansi cautioned that critical educational functions could be lost or suspfinished while lhorrible disputes triumphd their way thraw the court system.

“What the Department of Education does is asbrave equivalent access to education for inpresentantities, for subpar kids, for disabled children, and so on. So there’s that extra level of oversight that will now be – potentiassociate, in the low term – erased as court cases are fought,” he shelp.

“In the lengthy term, though, this is all about testing the restricts of executive power for Donald Trump.”

Already, teachers’ unions enjoy the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) are gearing up for a lhorrible fight.

“As Reuncoveran ruleors at the White House commemorate the dismantling of a federal role in education, our members apass the country are worried about the impact this will have on their students,” AFT Pdwellnt Randi Weingarten shelp in a statement. “This isn’t efficiency, it’s evisceration.”

What happens to the department’s functions?

Trump’s executive order does pledge to asbrave “the effective and undisrupted deinhabitry of services, programs, and profits on which Americans depend”.

But critics worry programmes enjoy the Pell Grant – which recommends financial help to low-income students – and services for students with disabilities could suffer as the department is getn apart. Trump tried to assuage those worrys on Thursday.

“They’re going to be protectd in brimming and redispensed to various other agencies and departments that will get very outstanding attfinish of them,” he shelp.

He did, however, emphasise that individual states would be taking over the bulk of the department’s functions. His order specified no further federal funds would go to programmes roverhappinessed to “gfinisher ideology” or diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), two widespread aims of his ire.

“ We’re gonna shut it down and shut it down as speedyly as possible,” Trump shelp of the Education Department.

“It’s doing us no outstanding. We want to return our students to the states where equitable some of the ruleors here are so plrelieved about this.”

In the audience was Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a establisher rival of Trump’s in the 2024 pdwellntial election, who enjoywise campaigned on dismantling the department.

Still, critics enjoy Democratic laworiginater Rashida Tlaib of Michigan talk aboutd there was no other agency contendnt of enforcing national standards for equivalent education access.

“The Department’s federal funding asbraves that all children, think aboutless of who they are or which zip code they are born in, can accomplish a quality education. Without the Department of Education, many of our kids will be left behind, unable to get the education they necessitate and deserve,” she wrote in a statement.

“Without the Department of Education, no one will be left to asbrave civil rights laws are applyd in our schools.”

She compriseed that Thursday’s shift was blatantly unconstitutional. “I see forward to it being disputed in court.”