Congress Should Support Trump’s Efforts to Eliminate the Department of Education and Its Damaging Programs

President Donald Trump’s directive to initiate the dismantling of the US Department of Education, which he is anticipated to sign this week, marks a positive move toward reducing governmental influence and eliminating progressive policies.

However, this is only a preliminary measure: he will need Congress to completely abolish the agency.

Additionally, it’s crucial to reevaluate (or terminate!) programs that currently funnel funds predominantly to benefit blue states and teachers’ unions.

Recall that the Department of Education came into existence as a result of a political quid pro quo: in 1976, the National Education Association, the largest teachers’ union in the nation, endorsed Jimmy Carter in exchange for his commitment to establish the department.

Carter accepted their support, secured the Democratic nomination, won the general election, and began working on his promise.

Thus, the DOE was established in 1980 and has continued to expand ever since.

Even Al Shanker, the head of the American Federation of Teachers, expressed skepticism about the necessity of such a department, suggesting that the argument for its creation was rooted in “mythology.”

He also voiced concerns over federal control over local school systems.

Shanker’s apprehensions were validated: there’s no proof that the establishment of the agency improved student performance in any way.

In fact, it spawned a bureaucratic workforce of 4,400 tasked with creating regulations and guidelines—such as DEI mandates—that favored teachers and Democratic interests, coercing local authorities into compliance.

These funds have also caused significant damage; at the collegiate level, they’ve contributed to skyrocketing tuition rates—while simultaneously escalating expenditures at all tiers to inflate school bureaucracies that adhere to DOE standards.

Indeed, most DOE expenditures consist of pass-through grants sanctioned by Congress.

That’s why it is essential for Trump to rally lawmakers not only to repeal the legislation that founded the agency but also to reassess the federal government’s influence on education.

For K-12, funds should be redirected into vouchers, allowing parents to choose the institutions their children attend—and encouraging states to increase the availability of private schools as a prerequisite for any federal funding.

Encouraging competition in this manner can solely enhance educational outcomes.

And when critics, unions, and other interested parties claim that Trump and his Republican colleagues aim to undermine children’s education, challenge them to provide substantial evidence.

Highlight the detrimental effects of the agency, such as those fostered by the DOE’s Diversity & Inclusion Council. Furthermore, remind them that centralizing education through such an agency was a top objective for the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s.

Educational decisions should be made by those with the most significant stake in the matter—parents—and by state and local leaders managing their schools, not by federal authorities.

Empower those with the highest vested interest in education to have their rightful voice.

Competition and parental choice are essential not only for enhancing student performance but also for maximizing value for investment.