President Donald Trump is expected to sign a long-awaited directive Thursday to officially close the Education Department, after weeks of gradually reducing the agency’s staff and spending.
According to a summary obtained by POLITICO, Trump’s pending executive order directs Education Secretary Linda McMahon to “take all necessary steps to facilitate” the closure of her department and “return education authority to the States.” The upcoming order will also direct McMahon to ensure that the department continues to provide its services, programs, and benefits.
The Trump administration is already reducing the agency’s workforce, including hundreds of attorneys, student aid workers, and civil rights office staff. The exact language of the order, which Trump is scheduled to sign during an event in the East Room, was not immediately available.
According to the White House, the order will also require that any remaining Education Department funds be used for programs or activities that do not advance diversity, equity, inclusion, or gender ideology.
Several Republican governors, including Greg Abbott of Texas, Mike Braun of Indiana, Ron DeSantis of Florida, Bill Lee of Tennessee, Brad Little of Idaho, Glenn Youngkin of Virginia, Kim Reynolds of Iowa, and Mike DeWine of Ohio, are expected to attend, according to a White House official.
Conservative lawmakers and leaders from Moms for Liberty, the Heritage Foundation, and Concerned Women for America are also expected to attend the signing.
USA Today was the first to report on the planned signing.
Critical aspects of the president’s long-awaited executive order, including Trump’s exact plans to sign it, have been in flux for weeks.
Outside White House advisers have also debated whether Trump should issue an order abolishing the department at all, according to people familiar with the situation.
Lawmakers, including two key Republicans, have expressed reservations about abolishing the department, indicating the difficult path to the 60 votes Trump will require in the Senate to carry out the full extent of his demolition plan.
The White House, Trump’s appointees, and billionaire Elon Musk’s government-cutting operation have already reduced research funding, reduced the agency’s workforce, and attempted to eliminate diversity programs that have energized modern conservative politics.
Additional reductions in the agency’s rank and file are taking place this week ahead of Trump’s order signing ceremony, and the president’s budget proposals are expected to include significant cuts in department funding.
