On Sept. 13, 2023, Donald Trump pledged to close the Department of Education if he won the 2024 Presidential Election, stating that the federal budget for the department is too great. This past September, while on his campaign trail, he affirmed that his plan was the same. “I say it all the time, I’m dying to get back to doing this. We will ultimately eliminate the federal Department of Education,” Trump said during a rally in Wisconsin. The move, he argues, would reduce federal influence over education and return decision-making power to states and local governments. Trump claims the department fosters inefficiency and has allowed what he calls “woke indoctrinations” in schools, stating “We will drain the government education swamp and stop the abuse of your taxpayer dollars to indoctrinate America’s youth with all sorts of things that you don’t want to have your youth hearing.”
The Department of Education is responsible for the distribution of federal financial aid for education, collecting and disseminating data and research related to schools and prohibiting discrimination in schools. Programs like federal student loans, Pell Grants, and Title I funding for low income schools would be restructured. Critics warn that such changes could create disruptions and reduce access to higher education, particularly for disadvantaged students.
