Trump preparing to sign order to dismantle Education Department
CNN
The president could sign the order as early as Thursday. He would need support from Congress to get it done.
President Donald Trump could decide this week to take the first steps to eliminate the Department of Education, people familiar with the matter said, as he looks to dramatically shrink the size of the federal government. White House officials have prepared an executive order directing Education Secretary Linda McMahon to begin the process of dismantling the department, the sources said. Trump could sign the document as early as Thursday, but plans had not yet been finalized. Trump has long signaled his intention to close the department, but fully eliminating it will require Congress to act, McMahon said during confirmation hearings earlier this year. She was confirmed Monday. CNN previously reported the administration was drafting an order to launch the process of closing the Department of Education. Trump also plans to push for Congress to pass legislation to end the department. While calls to abolish the Education Department or merge it with another federal agency are not new, the move has historically failed to get support from Congress. On the campaign trail, Trump repeatedly pointed to the department as a sign of federal overreach and tied it to culture war issues. “We will drain the government education swamp and stop the abuse of your taxpayer dollars to indoctrinate America’s youth with all sorts of things that you don’t want to have our youth hearing,” he said.
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