Trump Starts to Eliminate Education Dept Functions, Shifting Duties/ Newslooks/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ Morning Edition/ President Donald Trump has launched the initial phase of dismantling the U.S. Department of Education, aiming to reassign its key responsibilities to other federal agencies. Student loan management will move to the Small Business Administration, while programs for students with disabilities will transfer to Health and Human Services. Critics argue the plan will harm students and widen educational gaps across states.
Trump’s Education Overhaul: Quick Looks
- Trump signs executive order beginning process to dismantle the Education Department
- Student loans to shift to the Small Business Administration
- Programs for students with disabilities to move to Health and Human Services
- Education Secretary Linda McMahon vows to roll back federal regulations
- Congress would need to approve full dissolution of the department
- Opponents warn of larger class sizes, lost funding for low-income schools
- Workforce cuts and contract cancellations already underway at the department
- Civil rights enforcement, data collection, and Pell grants may be reassigned
Trump Starts to Eliminate Education Dept Functions, Shifting Duties
Deep Look
Trump Launches Roadmap to Wind Down U.S. Education Department, Reassign Core Duties
President Donald Trump on Thursday took the first formal step in a sweeping plan to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education, redirecting major programs like student loans and disability services to other agencies. Though the executive order did not include a detailed timeline or specific directives, it signals a clear intent to phase out the department’s central functions, a long-held goal among conservative policymakers.
Speaking during an Oval Office event primarily focused on defense innovation, Trump outlined the plan, stating that federal student loan responsibilities would shift to the Small Business Administration.
“It will be serviced much better than it has in the past,” Trump said. Programs supporting students with disabilities, he added, would transition to the Department of Health and Human Services.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon, appointed earlier this year, reinforced Trump’s vision in an opinion piece for Fox News.
“It won’t happen tomorrow,” she wrote, “but we are taking steps to systematically unwind unnecessary regulations and prepare to reassign the department’s other functions to the states or other federal agencies.”
McMahon acknowledged the unusual nature of her task: overseeing the planned dissolution of the very agency she leads.
“This is not a routine mission,” she wrote. “It is a transformation, driven by the clear will of the American people to return education to the states — and the decisive election of President Donald Trump.”
The agency’s functions include managing the $1.6 trillion federal student loan portfolio, distributing funding to support public education in low-income communities, enforcing civil rights in schools, and overseeing student aid programs like Pell Grants and the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). These responsibilities will be reassigned or eliminated in stages, McMahon suggested.
Critics, however, argue that dismantling the department could damage the nation’s education system, especially for vulnerable students. Democratic governors have already vowed to fight the executive order in court. They warn the changes could lead to larger class sizes, fewer after-school programs, and a growing disparity between education systems in wealthy and lower-income states.
Opponents also question whether agencies like the Small Business Administration have the infrastructure or expertise to manage the vast and complex federal student loan system.
Only Congress has the authority to formally eliminate the Education Department. Republican lawmakers are reportedly drafting legislation to do so, though they face stiff opposition in both chambers. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is moving forward with staff cuts, buyouts, and the termination of what it deems unnecessary contracts.
McMahon revealed that the department’s workforce has already been reduced by nearly half. Dozens of contracts have been canceled, part of a broader effort to scale back what Trump has described as “bloated” federal oversight of schools.
Trump has long derided the Education Department as a wasteful bureaucracy overly influenced by liberal ideologies. He has argued that the return of education governance to state and local authorities is key to fixing what he calls America’s “failing schools.” At Thursday’s signing ceremony, Trump said,
“The cost will be half, and the education will be maybe many, many times better.”
The executive order criticized the department’s ability to manage its student loan portfolio and asserted that loan management functions must return to agencies better equipped for financial services.
Conservatives have long viewed the department, established in 1979, as an unnecessary federal intrusion into local schooling. Since its inception, they argue, student test scores have remained stagnant despite more than $1 trillion in spending.
At the signing, Trump was joined by several Republican governors and education reform advocates who champion parental rights and school choice. Their presence highlighted a key theme of the administration’s education vision: reducing federal control and restoring authority to states and parents.
As the administration moves forward, the future of the department—and its programs—will hinge on Congressional cooperation, legal challenges, and whether Trump’s broader vision for a decentralized education system gains lasting political support.
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