, Columnist
Cutting the Department of Education Is Theater, Not a Plan
President Trump’s order to dismantle the department won't help post-Covid learning losses. That's an opening for Democrats.
Hasn’t done his homework.
Photographer: Kent Nishimura/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Late on Thursday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to “begin eliminating” the US Department of Education. It was exactly as expected: a performative exercise that will achieve none of the president’s stated campaign promises, including shutting down the agency.
That’s because the president doesn’t have the authority to eliminate the cabinet-level department without congressional approval, and lawmakers just voted to keep it alive for at least another year.