Reuters said that although not officially signed, this decree has faced a strong wave of protests from Democratic state Attorneys General. A lawsuit has been filed to prevent Trump from dissolving the Department of Education and stop plans to fire nearly half of the department's staff.
NAACP, the top civil rights organization in the US, called the above decision unconstitutional. This is a dark day for millions of American children, especially those who rely on federal funding to access quality education, NAACP President Derrick Johnson said.
President Trump and his advisor Elon Musk have repeatedly sought to shut down government agencies such as the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) without Congress approval. However, the closure of the Department of Education will be Trump's strongest move to cut and streamline the government apparatus.
Despite the decree, Trump cannot close the Department of Education without Congresss approval. The Republican Party currently holds a majority in the Senate (53.7), but to pass a bill to abolish a ministerial-level agency, it would require at least 60 votes in favor that would be 7 more from the Democrats, which would be almost impossible.
Democratic Sen. Patty Murray has said he will fight to the end to block Trump and Musk's plans. They are destroying the Department of Education, laying off thousands of employees and destroying the future of millions of students, she said.
According to a summary from the White House obtained by Reuters, the decree requires Education Minister Linda McMahon to take all necessary measures to close the Department of Education, transfer control of education to the states, and ensure uninterrupted provision of programs and services.
Mr. Trump once proposed closing the Department of Education during his first term, but the Congress did not act. Just last month, he continued to call for the Ministry to be closed immediately, but admitted that it needed consensus from the National Assembly and the teachers' union.
Proponents of the decree say the federal government's control of education has failed, with more than $3,000 billion spent since 1979, but student achievements have not improved significantly. Before the Department of Education was established, the department was under the US Department of Health, Education and Welfare.
Minister McMahon argued that the Ministry of Education does not directly recruit teachers, does not develop teaching programs. The Trump administration's goal is to promote innovation and create better conditions for state-level education.
However, experts are concerned that the closure of the Ministry will cause chaos in the education system, disrupt tens of billions of dollars in aid to public schools and support tuition fees for students. Currently, the Ministry of Education manages more than 100,000 public schools and 34,000 private schools, along with 1.6 trillion USD in student loans.
The Attorneys General of 20 states and Washington, D.C., have filed a lawsuit in Boston federal Court to block a plan to fire 1,300 employees of the Department of Education, leaving the remaining personnel at about 2,183 people.
The lawsuit argues that the massive personnel cut would paralyze the core functions of the department, including protecting civil rights, while violating Congresss powers under the US Constitution.
