Executive order caps weeks of cuts and other actions at the department
President Trump signed
an executive order yesterday directing Education Secretary Linda McMahon to begin the process of dismantling the Department of Education (ED), putting an official stamp on a process already well underway.
The order instructs McMahon to “take all necessary steps” to facilitate the department’s closure “to the maximum extent appropriate and permitted by law.”
While only Congress can formally eliminate a federal agency, the executive action advances Trump’s campaign pledge to return education oversight to states and local governments, which already fund and operate most schools. In practice, the administration has already begun dismantling the department through layoffs and program cuts.
“This is political theater, not serious public policy,” said ACE President Ted Mitchell
in a statement on the new order. “To dismantle any cabinet-level federal agency requires congressional approval, and we urge lawmakers to reject misleading rhetoric in favor of what is in the best interests of students and their families.”
Mitchell underscored the damage already done to the department, saying that “significant harm already has been done to students and taxpayers by the Trump administration’s arbitrary and misguided steps to hollow out the department.”
On a recent episode of
ACE’s dotEDU Live podcast, Mitchell added that the Trump administration appears to be pursuing a deliberate strategy of hollowing out the department so that, in time, it can be declared irrelevant and shut down entirely.
“They sort of look over their shoulder and say, ‘Well, there’s nothing left. We might as well close it,” he said.
Severe Cuts Raise Questions About Program Viability
The executive order follows the department’s aggressive steps earlier this month
to lay off nearly half of its 4,000-person workforce, including most staff responsible for overseeing student aid, civil rights enforcement, and data collection. Despite the administration’s assurances that key programs like Pell Grants, student loans, and Title I funding “will not be touched,” experts warn that without sufficient staff, those programs could falter, according to
The Chronicle of Higher Education.
The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), which plays a key role in allocating grants and analyzing data that determines school funding eligibility, is now down to just three remaining employees, according to internal emails and staff accounts
cited by NPR. Experts say this will severely hinder the department’s ability to distribute funding through programs like Title I and the Rural Education Achievement Program.
In addition to staff layoffs, the department also canceled over
$900 million in education research grants in February.
The Guardian reports that these cuts include studies on literacy and classroom effectiveness, depriving policymakers and educators of evidence-based insights. “You can’t even quantify the loss,” one former department employee said.
On dotEDU Live, Jon Fansmith, ACE’s senior vice president for government relations and national engagement, said that although the administration claims it will meet statutory obligations, “the signs are not good.” The Institute of Education Sciences is down to one employee, and OCR regional offices have been closed entirely.
“We’re blinding ourselves,” Mitchell warned. “It’s happening at a rate that will compromise the ability of our institutions to learn from each other and to carry out programs that best advantage our students.”
Attacks on DEI and Narrowing of Civil Rights Enforcement
The executive order also codifies a DEI crackdown already in progress, codifying specifically for ED an
earlier directive to prohibit federal funding for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. In the weeks leading up to the order, the Education Department
launched investigations into more than 50 colleges and universities, targeting scholarships and student success programs that include racial or ethnic criteria.
Among the programs under scrutiny is
The PhD Project, which supports efforts to diversify business school faculty. The investigations raise concerns that the administration’s interpretation of Title VI could undermine longstanding academic pipeline programs that promote access for underrepresented students.
Meanwhile, the administration has narrowed civil rights enforcement to focus almost exclusively on antisemitism complaints, potentially leaving thousands of unresolved cases related to sex, disability, and race discrimination in limbo, according to
NPR and
The Chronicle.
“We’re seeing the investigations being spread across DOJ, Homeland Security, and other agencies that don’t have experience with a resolution-based approach,” Mitchell said on dotEDU Live. Fansmith called the administration’s strategy “ham-handed,” noting that institutions are receiving threatening letters without clear due process.
ED Programs Quickly Reassigned
On Friday, the president announced that the federal student loan program would be transferred from ED to the Small Business Administration (SBA), now led by former Georgia senator Kelly Loeffler. He also said that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. would take over all federal special needs and nutrition programs.
But questions quickly emerged about the SBA’s capacity to take on such a major new function.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the agency plans to cut more than 40 percent of its workforce—approximately 2,700 positions—as part of an agencywide reorganization, part of a broader initiative from the Department of Government Efficiency, led by Elon Musk.
The restructuring will reportedly eliminate nonessential roles and include voluntary resignations and the expiration of temporary appointments made during the COVID-19 pandemic. The move raises questions about how agencies with shrinking staff will manage major new responsibilities once handled by ED.
Legal Pushback and Uncertain Future
Although McMahon pledged that the department would continue providing critical services and work with Congress on an “orderly transition,” legal challenges to the layoffs are already underway. A federal judge in Maryland issued a
temporary injunction halting the reduction-in-force at ED and other agencies after attorneys general from 20 states and the District of Columbia filed suit. The Trump administration has appealed.
Additional legal challenges are expected. Lawyers for advocacy groups argue that the order violates the constitution’s separation of powers clause and the requirement that the president faithfully execute the law, according to
The New York Times.
Despite Republican enthusiasm, recent polls show that nearly two-thirds of voters oppose closing the department,
Inside Higher Ed reported, citing a Morning Consult poll.
Still, some in Congress appear ready to take up the president’s call. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), who chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, said Thursday that he intends to support Trump’s goals by submitting legislation to shut down the department “as soon as possible.”
“This is going to be a long, messy fight,” said Sarah Spreitzer, ACE’s assistant vice president for government relations, on dotEDU Live. “But there’s bipartisan concern—even among Republicans—about what it really means to eliminate the department.”
For more on the Trump administration’s orders and actions targeting higher education, see ACE’s
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