US President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order to scrap the federal education department to fulfil his campaign promise, news agency AFP reported Tuesday.
The White House confirmed that Trump will sign a slew of executive orders since his return as president on January 20 but did not specify the details of the orders or what they intend to achieve.
During the presidential election campaign, Trump alleged that the department had “too much” spending power even when the US lagged behind other countries regarding school education standards. The president had vowed to return power on the subject to US states.
Trump has also alleged that the department and US schools are being “too liberal”. The president has already signed several executive orders regarding sensitive cultural issues – including race, gender, and college campus protests.
The move would need approval from the US Congress, which is highly unlikely, the report said. However, an executive order would significantly weaken the department’s functions.
Trump’s nomination of Linda McMahon, the former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, as the head of the school education department was widely seen as signalling his intention to downgrade its powers.
The Washington Post reported on Monday that Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) was ‘probing’ the department’s data.
The move comes after Musk’s crackdown on the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which he said Trump wanted to shut down. On Monday, yellow police tape blocked access to the lobby at the agency’s headquarters, and hundreds of employees were locked out of computer systems.
Experts warned that the closure of USAID will likely have far-reaching consequences as key programmes in health, water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), as well as climate resilience, could suffer major setbacks.
Population Foundation of India Executive Director Poonam Muttreja criticised the decision to close USAID.
“Elon Musk’s baseless claim that USAID is a ‘criminal organization’ is not just absurd’, it is dangerous. USAID has been at the forefront of humanitarian efforts for decades, providing life-saving aid to some of the world’s most vulnerable populations. Dismissing it with such reckless rhetoric ignores the millions who rely on its programmes and undermines America’s credibility as a global leader in development,” Muttreja said.
(With AFP inputs)