Donald Trump has just said: I want the Department of Education to be closed immediately

U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that he wants the federal Department of Education shut down immediately.

Trump had previously said he would like to close the department through an executive order but acknowledged that he would need support from Congress and teachers' unions to fulfill this campaign promise.

An immediate closure of the department could disrupt tens of billions of dollars in funding for K-12 schools and tuition assistance for college students.

Since taking office, Trump has focused on making sweeping changes to the federal government, including ordering federal employees back to in-person work or to resign, pushing for significant budget cuts, and attempting to shut down agencies like the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

The Department of Education has been a top target in Trump’s plans.
“I’d like it to be closed immediately,” Trump told reporters on Wednesday. “The Department of Education is a big con job.”

Trump also said he had instructed Linda McMahon, his nominee for education secretary, to work on shutting down the very department she was appointed to lead.

Trump previously proposed eliminating the Department of Education during his first term from 2017 to 2021, but Congress did not act on the plan. The agency currently employs around 4,245 people and had a budget of $251 billion last year.

Conservative think tanks that support dismantling the department have suggested that its responsibilities—such as managing federal education aid and oversight—could be transferred to other agencies.