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Trump considers closing the Department of Education after USAID

Administration ready to downsize it. Elon Musk’s role in federal government reorganisation grows

After the surprise closure of the USAID, the Trump administration is reportedly considering an executive order to dismantle the Department of Education, stripping it of some functions and transferring others to other departments. The Wall Street Journal reports this, citing inside sources. The ultimate goal would be to abolish the department, a move that would, however, require congressional approval.

Already during the election campaign Trump had promised to limit the federal role in education and give more autonomy to the states. Now, his advisors could follow the same strategy used for USAID, which was closed in recent days at the instigation of the Department of Government Efficiency, led by Elon Musk.

The idea of eliminating the Department of Education appears politically risky, however: according to a Wall Street Journal poll, 61% of registered voters oppose its abolition. Created in 1979 under the Carter administration, the department deals with subsidies for low-income students, regulation for students with disabilities, and enforcement of civil rights laws.

Meanwhile, Trump has already signed executive orders to ‘cleanse schools of radical indoctrination’, expand school choice and counter anti-Semitism in universities. Over the weekend, at least 60 Department of Education employees were suspended, while Musk’s representatives gained access to internal documents.

The billionaire’s influence also emerges in the USAID case, which was closed in a raid that left staff without access to offices. Last week, Trump had already frozen foreign aid programmes, with the exception of those for Israel and Egypt.

According to the Washington Post, these moves show the growing power of unelected figures, such as Musk, in the reorganisation of the federal government.

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