Donald Trump has given the order to close the Department of Education. This is established by a decree that plans to sign this Thursday, instructing the newly appointed secretary of the department, Linda McMahon – Exdirective of the WWE Wrestling League -, to dismantle the agency he now directs.
The president seeks to fulfill one of his most radical campaign promises. The executive order will instruct McMahon to take all the necessary measures to close the department. Hours after being confirmed by the Senate, the new secretary sent an email to the staff with a clear message: her “final mission” is to liquidate the agency.
However, Trump does not have unilateral authority to close it. To do this, it would need the approval of Congress, which requires 60 votes in the Senate, a difficult figure to reach with only 53 Republicans in the Chamber. Its strategy, for now, is to reduce the department to its minimum expression, moving functions to other agencies and applying drastic cuts in personnel, programs and subsidies.
The Education Department administers essential funds, such as 18.4 billion dollars for schools in low -income areas and 15.5 billion for students with disabilities. It also manages the student loan program, which manages $ 1.6 billion in debt. Biden tried to condemn part of that debt, but the courts blocked their plan, and now Trump has canceled any relief attempt.
McMahon has already warned its employees about massive and imminent cuts, leaving key programs in the air. The elimination of the department also seeks to dismantle programs of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), which Trump has described as “illegal discrimination”, arguing that they favor certain groups to the detriment of white and Asian men in educational institutions.
No federal funds
The decree, which has already been advanced by White House spokesmen, warns that any school that maintains diversity programs could lose federal funds, which represent 10% of the public education budget in the United States.
Although public education is already largely under the control of states, Trump insists that the federal government must do even less. The big question is whether it will overcome legal obstacles or if this will be another of its promises impossible to fulfill, such as the construction of a total wall on the border with Mexico.
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