The Trump administration advanced its pledge to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education on November 18, 2025, by transferring core functions, such as K-12 grants, higher education oversight, and student loans, to other agencies, including Labor, Interior, and Health & Human Services.
For context, this move follows mass firings in the Department of Education that have been upheld by the Supreme Court, along with a 43-day government shutdown, which officials cited as proof that the department is not needed, noting how schools operated perfectly fine and entirely uninterrupted without it.
Many supporters see the demolition of the Department of Education as a long-overdue GOP victory, noting the department’s limited role (just 10% of K-12 funding) and its contribution to tuition inflation via loans. Despite the flurry of complex data, leftists have melted down in epic fashion.
Explaining her vision for the future, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon described, “Cutting through layers of red tape in Washington is one essential piece of our final mission… refocus education on students, families and schools.”
Echoing these comments, Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI), the House Education Chair, explained how [The administration is] “making good on its promise to fix the nation’s broken system by right-sizing the Department of Education.”
Offering another view, Education Secretary McMahon contrasted the claims made by Democrats with the recent 43-day shutdown. “The Democrat shutdown made one thing unmistakably clear: Students and teachers don’t need Washington bureaucrats micromanaging their classrooms,” she argued.
Supporting this assertion, courageous conservative and Whitehouse Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt declared, “The Democrat shutdown of our federal government made one thing clear: students and teachers can go to class without heavy-handed federal intervention.”
"*" indicates required fields
Making a similar point, she noted the obvious conclusion, saying, “The Democrats’ reckless 43 day government shutdown did manage to do one valuable thing: It proved that America does not need a federal Department of Education.”
Watch Leavitt here:
Despite the sensible reasoning, some progressives were triggered, such as one user who angrily typed out, “Trump doesn’t want an educated country — he wants a pliable one. Leavitt saying the shutdown ‘proved’ we don’t need a Department of Education isn’t policy — it’s Trumpism blurted out: weaken public education so the strongman has fewer minds capable of telling him no.”
Likewise, workers at the controversial department are feeling the heat. “It feels as though the administration is mad about its inability to get rid of the education department as easily as it had wanted to, and so it is making it as difficult and traumatic as possible for us,” an anonymous source reported.
However, despite opposition, Republicans remain resolute in their support for the president. “I agree with President Trump that the Department of Education has failed its mission. Since the Department can only be shut down with Congressional approval, I will support the President’s goals by submitting legislation to accomplish this as soon as possible, said Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA).
Likewise, Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) claimed, “I applaud this bold move by @POTUS and @EDSecMcMahon to give education policy back to state & local educators and parents. Texas is already a leader in empowering parents, & this is the right move by POTUS to support children over unions, unlike the Biden administration.”
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video