Education Secretary Linda McMahon said Friday that President Trump is moving forward with an executive order to dismantle the Education Department.
“I think he certainly intends to sign the order, and we’ve talked about it. He’s made it crystal clear since the time he was running for president that this is his intent,” McMahon told “Fox & Friends” in her first interview since getting confirmed earlier this week.
Trump was originally expected to sign such an order Thursday, but it did not come to fruition. The move could come as soon as Friday afternoon.
A draft order obtained by multiple outlets directs McMahon to do all she legally can to dismantle the department but acknowledges an act of Congress would be needed to completely abolish the agency.
When asked about who would control “woke” schools if the federal agency went away, McMahon said it would be up to the states.
“Truly up to the governors,” she said.
The department has been a major part of Trump’s efforts against “woke” policies and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, setting up portal for parents and others to report DEI practices in their districts and cutting funding to federal contracts the department says were too “divisive.”
The secretary said during the interview that “we don’t” need her department, and she has “welcomed [the Department of Government Efficiency] to come in” to show where there is wasteful spending.
DOGE has touted the Education Department as making the most “progress with efficiency.”
Trump has repeatedly said he wants to eliminate the department, telling McMahon to put herself “out of a job.”
When moving “education back to the states,” McMahon said she wants to make sure the department is “providing the tools for the governors, for the teachers that we can provide them with research to show best practices, because the president’s goal really is to see our scores go up.”
Another one of the Trump’s goals is more support of school choice programs, signing an executive order on the matter early in his presidency.
“I think there are various programs that we would look at, scholarship programs, we could use voucher systems to go to different schools,” McMahon commented.
