US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday to launch the process of dismantling the Department of Education in a historic and widely contested move. As school children looked on from circles scattered around the East Room of the White House, Trump vowed, “We’re going to shut it down and send it back to the states where it has to come.”
The executive order instructs Education Secretary Linda McMahon to take any necessary action to allow the department to get closed, which is a long-held Republican effort to roll back federal oversight of education. Trump said that federal involvement blocks eduacational progress and that the move would be cheaper while establishing higher academic standards.
“This is [a] fine day to get rid of the Department of Education,” the right-wing Heritage Foundation tweeted in support of the proposal. Tipursionalin Republican governors, pharmacist Ron De regate j wat Florida Greg Abbott of Texas also praised the decision during the ceremony. 
But the move has been met with furious opposition from Democrats and teachers. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer denounced the move as a “tyrannical power seizure,” saying it threatens to imperil key federal programs for poor and special-needs students.
Though Congress would need to approve the department’s official shut down, Trump’s order lets it start cutting out funding and staff right away. This daring move fits in line with bigger reforms to shrink bureaucracy on the federal level by Trump and his man to Washington, Elon Musk, through the newly created Department for Departmental Efficiency (DOGE).
The fight for the future of education in America then moves to Capitol Hill.
