{"id":11208,"date":"2025-03-05T09:08:12","date_gmt":"2025-03-05T09:08:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/?p=11208"},"modified":"2025-03-05T09:08:12","modified_gmt":"2025-03-05T09:08:12","slug":"education-department-shutdown-may-be-imminent-as-mcmahon-sends-final-mission-memo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/?p=11208","title":{"rendered":"Education Department Shutdown May Be Imminent As McMahon Sends \u2018Final Mission\u2019 Memo"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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STAMFORD, CONNECTICUT – JULY 17: Former Small Business Administrator Linda McMahon led all … [+]<\/span> presidential campaign donors from Connecticut, having given $813,000 to a joint fundraising committee affiliated with her former boss, Donald Trump. (Peter Casolino\/New Haven Register via Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/fbs-accordion>Houston Chronicle via Getty Images<\/small><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Trump\u2019s ‘Final Mission\u2019: Could The Education Department Shut Down?<\/h2>\n

President Donald Trump has long made it no secret that he wants to dismantle<\/a> the Department of Education.\u200b Now, newly confirmed Education Secretary Linda McMahon is treating that goal as the agency\u2019s “historic final mission” in an internal memo<\/a> to staff\u200b. In the memo \u2014 which McMahon emailed to employees shortly after taking office \u2013 she outlines an urgent mandate from Trump to “eliminat[e]<\/p>\n

\u2026bureaucratic bloat” at the department as a “momentous final mission” to be executed “quickly and responsibly.”\u200b This bold directive has sparked intense debate about whether a shutdown of the Education Department is on the horizon, what it would mean for students and schools, and whether such a drastic step is feasible.<\/p>\n

Let’s break down the implications of McMahon’s “Final Mission” memo, Trump’s past statements about abolishing the Education Department, and the policy and political hurdles that stand in the way.<\/p>\n

Inside McMahon\u2019s ‘Final Mission\u2019 Memo To Education Department Staff: A Blueprint For Dismantling It<\/h2>\n

McMahon\u2019s memo to the Education Department staff reads like a battle plan for a sweeping overhaul \u2014 or outright closure \u2014 of the 45-year-old agency. “We must start thinking about our final mission at the department as an overhaul \u2014 a last chance to restore the culture of liberty and excellence that made American education great,” McMahon wrote, characterizing the task ahead as a historic opportunity for reform\u200b. She urged employees to be “enthusiastic” about the changes, even as she acknowledged the disruption it will bring\u200b.<\/p>\n

In the memo, McMahon aligns herself squarely with President Trump\u2019s vision. She noted that Trump has tasked the department with “accomplishing the elimination of bureaucratic bloat\u2026\u2014a momentous final mission\u2014quickly and responsibly.”\u200b In other words, the Education Secretary \u2013 a billionaire businesswoman and longtime Trump ally \u2014 plans to work herself out of a job by dramatically downsizing her agency. “I want to invite all employees to join us in this historic final mission on behalf of all students, with the same dedication and excellence that you have brought to your careers as public servants,” McMahon wrote, calling on staff to embrace the mandate\u200b.<\/p>\n

This memo came on McMahon\u2019s first day leading the department after a contentious Senate confirmation. It capped off six weeks of upheaval at the Education Department: buyout offers to employees, budget cuts, and program terminations as part of Trump\u2019s new Department of Government Efficiency initiative\u200b. The aggressive start \u2014 unprecedented in the department\u2019s history\u200b \u2014 signals that the administration is serious about fundamentally reshaping (and potentially shuttering) the Education Department. McMahon’s “Final Mission” blueprint is effectively the first step in mapping how to execute Trump’s campaign promise to send education oversight “back to the states.”<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s Education Department Vision For McMahon: \u2018Put Yourself Out Of A Job\u2019<\/h2>\n

Trump has been skeptical of the Education Department for years, often arguing that education policy should be returned to state and local control. During his 2024 campaign, he repeatedly vowed to eliminate the Department of Education and shift its power to the states\u200b. In one 2023 campaign video, Trump promised<\/a>, “one thing I’ll be doing very early in the administration is closing up the Department of Education in Washington, D.C., and sending all education… back to the states.”\u200b This encapsulates his long-held belief that a Washington bureaucracy should not be setting the agenda for the nation’s schools.<\/p>\n

After winning the election, Trump wasted no time acting on that pledge. He nominated McMahon \u2014 better known for her tenure as a pro wrestling executive and Small Business Administration chief \u2013 to lead the Education Department precisely because he expected her to dismantle it. “I told Linda, ‘Linda, I hope you do a great job and put yourself out of a job.\u2019 I want her to put herself out of a job,” Trump quipped to reporters according<\/a> to NBC News<\/em>, underscoring that McMahon\u2019s ultimate assignment is to make the DOE obsolete\u200b. The President has even characterized the department as being beyond reform \u2013 claiming it has been infiltrated by “radicals, zealots and Marxists” \u2013 and suggested that only shutting it down can “restore” the system\u200b.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s rhetoric echoes a strain of conservative thought dating back decades. Since the DOE was created 1979 under President Jimmy Carter, some Republicans have argued for its abolition. Ronald Reagan famously campaigned in 1980 on a promise to kill the newly formed Department of Education, though once in office, Reagan couldn\u2019t muster enough support in Congress to follow through\u200b, commentary from the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, noted<\/a>. Trump is reviving that agenda with unusual vigor. By instructing his Education Secretary to plan the agency’s endgame, he’s making arguably the most serious attempt yet to fulfill a promise that generations of Republicans have floated but never realized.<\/p>\n

Notably, Trump\u2019s push to shut down the Department of Education doesn\u2019t mean a full retreat of federal influence in schooling. Even when discussing leaving education to the states, Trump has outlined aggressive federal interventions on hot-button issues. He has threatened to pull federal funding from any school “pushing Critical Race Theory, gender ideology, or other inappropriate… content,” according to NBC News<\/em>. In short, Trump wants to eliminate what he sees as a bloated federal bureaucracy, but he is still willing to use Washington\u2019s leverage to enforce specific education policies he favors. This dichotomy underpins the political strategy: shrink the department while wielding federal dollars as carrots and sticks to influence education outcomes.<\/p>\n

Can Trump Legally Abolish The Education Department?<\/h2>\n

The big question: Is it possible for a president to shut down a Cabinet-level department like the Education Department? The short answer is no \u2013 at least not unilaterally\u200b. An act of Congress created the Education Department, and only Congress can formally abolish it. \u201cYou can\u2019t just drop a bomb on the Department of Education and turn it into rubble,\u201d Jonathan E. Collins, a Columbia University political science and education professor, told<\/a> Time<\/em> \u201cLegally, it has to start with Congress, not the president.”<\/em> In other words, Trump cannot simply issue an executive order to dissolve the Education Department overnight.<\/p>\n

Forbes<\/span>Will Student Loans Be Cancelled If Trump Shuts Down Department Of Education?<\/span>By Shahar Ziv<\/span><\/small><\/span><\/span><\/span> <\/p>\n

However, a president can take significant steps to weaken or dismantle an agency\u2019s capabilities while waiting for Congress. According to reports, the Trump administration is drafting an executive order that would direct McMahon and her team to start winding down operations and draw up a plan for the department\u2019s demise\u200b, notes<\/a> Inside Higher Ed<\/em>. This kind of order could freeze hiring, cut budgets, and direct that certain offices be shuttered or merged into other agencies. But without legislation, the legal authority and programs of the Education Department would remain intact \u2013 just possibly reassigned elsewhere. Indeed, even if the department’s headquarters were closed, the laws governing federal student loans, K-12 funding, and school civil rights enforcement would still be on the books. Those statutes would either need to be repealed by Congress or the responsibilities transferred to other parts of the government.<\/p>\n

Historically, Congress has been reluctant to approve the outright elimination of the DOE. During Trump\u2019s first term, for instance, his administration annually proposed deep budget cuts to education, only to be rebuffed as lawmakers increased<\/em> the department\u2019s funding\u200b, according to NBC News<\/em>. In 2023, House conservatives pushed an amendment to abolish the department, but 60 Republicans joined Democrats to defeat the measure\u200b. As recently as this January, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) introduced a one-sentence bill declaring that the Education Department \u201cshall terminate on December 31, 2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yet that proposal faces long odds in a closely divided Congress. Trump will need Congress\u2019s cooperation to shutter the Education Department permanently, and that is far from guaranteed.<\/p>\n

Policy Implications:<\/strong> What Happens If The Education Department Shuts Down?<\/h2>\n

What would it mean if Trump and McMahon ultimately succeeded in dismantling the Education Department? It\u2019s important to note that eliminating the department would not erase federal involvement in education overnight. Instead, most experts say the key functions of the DOE would be relocated to other agencies or handled in new ways. The agency might disappear, but its most extensive programs would live on (unless Congress explicitly cuts them). Here are a few likely outcomes and changes if the Education Department were closed:<\/p>\n