Trump To Dismantle Education Department, Funding Threatened

According to US media reports, President Donald Trump is scheduled to sign an executive order instructing Linda McMahon, his newly appointed education secretary, to take over the department that she currently leads as soon as possible on Thursday.

According to the executive order, which was circulating on Wednesday, McMahon is required to “take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Education Department,” to the fullest extent permissible and necessary by law.

In his campaign for a return to the White House, Trump, 78, said he would delegate the department’s authority to state governments. He also promised to decentralize education.

By law, the US Department of Education, which was established in 1979 under former president Jimmy Carter, cannot be shut down without the Senate’s approval of an act.

READ ALSO: FG Proposes a 12-Year Basic Education, But denies slashing the JSS and SSS.

However, under Trump’s second administration, the department could experience widespread slashes to programs and staff, which would reduce its functionality.

Democrats, teachers’ unions, and many parents have been offended by the Republican leader’s threat to shut down the education department because they think it will be an attack on the public education system.

At a Senate education committee hearing last month, McMahon, a 76-year-old businesswoman who formerly held the position of CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, claimed that “the excessive consolidation of power” in Washington was harming education.

What’s the remedy, then? She argued that government should support education freedom.

According to The Washington Post, McMahon and other officials have suggested shifting some of the agency’s responsibilities to other levels of government as part of its effort to dismantle it, even though it might lead to legal challenges.

Source: Channels TV