WASHINGTON — A Republican senator said he plans to introduce legislation to formally dismantle the Department of Education just hours after President Donald Trump signed an executive order paving the way for the agency’s elimination.
Trump signed the order on Thursday calling for the closure of the Department of Education, although such an act cannot be accomplished without an act by Congress. Shortly after the order was signed Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., said he would provide that assistance to “accomplish this as soon as possible.”
“I agree with President Trump that the Department of Education has failed its mission,” Cassidy, chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, said in a post on X.
Cassidy’s statement marks a significant step toward eliminating the department, which has long been a target by conservative lawmakers who have decried its creation as government overreach and have called for local control over schools.
Trump made the elimination of the Education Department a key campaign promise during the 2024 election, vowing to crack down on wasteful spending and eradicating what he views as the promotion of woke ideology in public schools.
“It sounds strange, doesn’t it? Department of Education, we’re going to eliminate it. And everybody knows it’s right, and the Democrats know it’s right, and I hope they’re going to be voting for it,” Trump said ahead of the signing. “We have to get our children educated. We’re not doing well with the world of education in this country, and we haven’t for a long time.”
It’s not yet clear whether Cassidy’s bill would eliminate all aspects of the Education Department. In remarks on Thursday, Trump said he would allow the department to continue providing its “core necessities” such as Title I funding for low-income schools and federal student loans, among other things.
But Cassidy’s proposal has already garnered support from some Republican senators, signaling a sense of momentum on Capitol Hill. Republicans have previously attempted to introduce legislation to dismantle the Department of Education but those efforts have never made much headway.
“Sen. Cassidy is right in having the bill that would put into action President Trump’s executive order,” said Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn. “Let’s take the Department of Education down, send the money, the power, the authority back to the states and to the local school systems. And let’s get educational attainment up for all of our children.”
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, has also been supportive of eliminating the Education Department, saying in a post on X last week the agency “shouldn’t exist.”
House Republicans have also expressed support for Trump’s order to do away with the department, possibly giving Cassidy’s proposal a chance in the lower chamber if the Senate passes such a bill.
“Working with President Trump and (Education Secretary Linda) McMahon, Congress will champion the legislative efforts needed to make this vision a reality, restoring local control, slashing red tape, and improving outcomes—so every child, no matter their ZIP code, gets the education they deserve,” Rep Burgess Owens, R-Utah, said in a statement.
Other GOP lawmakers echoed similar sentiments, calling for educational decisions to be handed back to individual states.
“When it comes to an issue as important as the education of our children, no one knows better than those closest to them,” Rep. Marlin Stutzman, R-Ind., said in a post on X. “Unelected federal bureaucrats who have minimal knowledge of the real needs of the future generation have only wasted tax dollars and made the education our kids receive worse.”
Democrats were quick to oppose those efforts, vowing to block any legislation that seeks to eliminate the Department of Education.
“Donald Trump and House Republicans are crashing the economy in real time. They believe that giving massive tax breaks to billionaires is more important than supporting our public school children,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said in a statement. “Congress created the Department of Education and only an act of Congress can eliminate it. We will stop this malignant Republican scheme in the House of Representatives and in the Courts.”