US 21 march 2025 : US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday aimed at eliminating the US Education Department, which he had termed as a “big con job” last month.
Amid his sweeping actions, US President Donald Trump in February had called for the immediate closure of the federal Department of Education on, reiterating his desire to shut down the agency despite acknowledging the complexity of the process.
Donald Trump reportedly proposed shuttering it in his first term as president, but Congress did not act.
The Education Department, which oversees a range of educational support, employs over 4,200 people and has a budget that totaled $251 billion in the most recent year, according to a Reuters report.
Donald Trump had previously suggested he would seek to close the department through an executive order, though he recognised that achieving this goal would require support from Congress and teachers’ unions.
The closure of Education Department comes with consequences, potentially disrupting billions of dollars in funding for K-12 schools and college tuition assistance programmes, according to the report.
Trump’s efforts to change US govt ops
Donald Trump’s executive order to eliminate the Education Department is the latest in the series of actions as part of his broader efforts to enact sweeping changes in US government operations.
Donald Trump has focused on reducing the size of the federal workforce and cutting costs, pushing for government employees to return to office jobs or leave, and targeting agencies like the US Agency for International Development (USAID) for closure.
Summary: Donald Trump issues an executive order aiming to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education, sparking nationwide debate.