Trump calls Department of Education ‘con job,’ seeks immediate closure

President Donald Trump‘s plan for the U.S. Department of Education is one of immediacy: close it as soon as possible.

According to Trump, the federal department is a “con job.” Reuters reported yesterday that Trump said he wants the department closed immediately and he would like to do so with an executive order but he would need buy-ins from Congress and teachers’ unions.

Immediately closing the department could disrupt tens of billions of dollars in aid supplied to K through 12 schools across the United States and tuition assistance for college students.

Closing the DOE comes with other massive changes the president has planned for the federal government, such as forcing federal employees to return to work in offices and a federal hiring freeze. However, the DOE has been at the top of Trump’s to-do list. Upon hiring Linda McMahon as education secretary, Trump told her he wants her to put herself out of a job.

In his first term as president, Trump proposed closing the DOE, but Congress did not respond. The DOE employs 4,245 and spent $251 billion in 2024. Conservatives who support closing the DOE claim that other agencies could handle aid programs for education.

U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia is a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, released a statement.

“President Trump lives in a fantasy if he thinks closing the Department of Education is a good idea. Americans know that the key to achieving the American dream begins with a good education. The Education Department provides critical support for K-12 schools, administers aid to students pursuing higher education and job training programs, allows students with disabilities to access the same education opportunities as other students, and so much more. Closing the Department would harm every student across America, have negative consequences for our country’s economic growth and competitiveness for decades to come, and set America’s students up for failure. There is nothing more important right now to our nation’s success than ensuring students get the high-quality education they need, and I will use every legislative tool at my disposal to ensure this doesn’t happen,” Kaine said.