To dissolve the US Department of Education, Mr. Trump needs to overcome the "barrier" of Congress

Mr. Trump has just signed an executive order creating conditions for the Department of Education to dissolve itself, but the approval of the US Congress is needed for the department to be completely abolished.

US Department of Education Headquarters - Photo: NEW YORK TIMES

On March 20 (US time), US President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the US Department of Education to come up with a plan to disband itself, in an effort to pursue the complete elimination of the department.

Why did Mr. Trump sign an executive order to abolish the Department of Education and hand over school policies to the states? - Source: The Times and The Sunday Times

Meanwhile, according to the New York Times , only the US Congress can abolish a cabinet-level agency like the Department of Education, and it is unclear whether Mr. Trump has enough votes at the "gate" of Congress for this.

Aiming to abolish the US federal Department of Education "once and for all", Mr. Trump has previously fired about half of its employees, cut its research division, and canceled dozens of the department's grants and contracts.

"The reality is that the Trump administration does not have the constitutional authority to dissolve the Department of Education without congressional approval. What they will do, however, is defund and destabilize the agency to create chaos and advance their extremist agenda," said Democratic Rep. Maxwell Frost.

Established in 1979, the U.S. Department of Education's primary job is to distribute money to college students through grants and loans.

The department also allocates federal money to schools from kindergarten through high school in the US states, focusing on low-income and disabled students, as well as anti-discrimination work in schools.

The New York Times reported that the money the US Department of Education allocates to schools has been set aside by Congress, and is unlikely to be affected by Mr. Trump’s executive order. However, the allocation of this fund in the current context could be loosened or the funds could be transferred to other federal agencies.

At the same time, there are opinions that the idea of ​​completely dissolving the US Department of Education will be difficult to pass in the US Congress, even though the Republican Party holds the majority in both houses.

Republicans are likely to face opposition from university presidents, superintendents and other education leaders in their districts, as schools in Republican areas also receive federal funding from the U.S. Department of Education.

“They’re going to face pushback,” said Jon Valant, an education expert at the Brookings Institution. Valant argued that Republicans have a slim majority and would likely face a filibuster to prevent the dismantling of the Education Department from passing in the Senate.

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/giai-tan-bo-giao-duc-my-ong-trump-can-vuot-qua-cua-ai-quoc-hoi-20250321103646168.htm