The U.S. Department of Education is seen on March 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. U.S. President Donald Trump is preparing to sign an executive order to abolish the Department of Education.
Win Mcnamee | Getty Images News | Getty Images
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday aimed at dismantling the U.S. Department of Education.
The Education Department oversees the country’s $1.6 trillion federal student loan portfolio, provides funding to low-income students and enforces civil rights across the country.
Only Congress can unilaterally eliminate the Education Department. But the Trump administration can starve the agency of resources.
Earlier this month, the department laid off nearly half of its staffers. The actions leave the department with 2,183 employees, down from 4,133 when Trump took office in January.
Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, told reporters on Thursday that she expected some key functions of the Education Department, including federal student loans, to continue to be run out of the minimized agency.
It was hard to overestimate the harm the order would inflict, consumer advocates said.
“Today’s decision does not serve the interests of students or families,” said Mitria Spotser, vice president and federal policy director at the Center for Responsible Lending, in a statement.
“It weakens public education, abandons civil rights enforcement and prioritizes corporate interests over the fundamental right to a quality education,” Spotser said.
Former President Jimmy Carter established the current day U.S. Department of Education in 1979. Since then, the department has faced other existential threats, with former President Ronald Reagan calling for its end and Trump, during his first term, attempting to merge it with the Labor Department.
