Trump’s ‘Final Mission’: Could the Education Department Shut Down?
President Donald Trump has long made it no secret that he wants to dismantle the Department of Education. Now, newly confirmed Education Secretary Linda McMahon is treating that goal as the agency’s “historic final mission” in an internal memo to staff. In the memo – which McMahon emailed to employees shortly after taking office – she outlines an urgent mandate from Trump to “eliminat[e]
…bureaucratic bloat” at the department as a “momentous final mission” to be executed “quickly and responsibly.” This bold directive has sparked intense debate about whether a shutdown of the Education Department is on the horizon, what it would mean for students and schools, and whether such a drastic step is feasible.
Let’s break down the implications of McMahon’s “Final Mission” memo, Trump’s past statements about abolishing the Education Department, and the policy and political hurdles that stand in the way.
Inside McMahon’s ‘Final Mission’ Memo To Education Department Staff: A Blueprint For Dismantling It
McMahon’s memo to the Education Department staff reads like a battle plan for a sweeping overhaul – or outright closure – of the 45-year-old agency. “We must start thinking about our final mission at the department as an overhaul — a last chance to restore the culture of liberty and excellence that made American education great,” McMahon wrote, characterizing the task ahead as a historic opportunity for reform. She urged employees to be “enthusiastic” about the changes, even as she acknowledged the disruption it will bring.
In the memo, McMahon aligns herself squarely with President Trump’s vision. She noted that Trump has tasked the department with “accomplishing the elimination of bureaucratic bloat…—a momentous final mission—quickly and responsibly.” In other words, the Education Secretary – a billionaire businesswoman and longtime Trump ally – plans to work herself out of a job by dramatically downsizing her agency. “I want to invite all employees to join us in this historic final mission on behalf of all students, with the same dedication and excellence that you have brought to your careers as public servants,” McMahon wrote, calling on staff to embrace the mandate.
This memo came on McMahon’s first day leading the department after a contentious Senate confirmation. It capped off six weeks of upheaval at the Education Department: buyout offers to employees, budget cuts, and program terminations as part of Trump’s new Department of Government Efficiency initiative. The aggressive start – unprecedented in the department’s history – signals that the administration is serious about fundamentally reshaping (and potentially shuttering) the Education Department. McMahon’s “Final Mission” blueprint is effectively the first step in mapping how to execute Trump’s campaign promise to send education oversight “back to the states.”
Trump’s Education Department Vision For McMahon: ‘Put Yourself Out of a Job’
Trump has been skeptical of the Education Department for years, often arguing that education policy should be returned to state and local control. During his 2024 campaign, he repeatedly vowed to eliminate the Department of Education and shift its power to the states. In one 2023 campaign video, Trump promised, “one thing I’ll be doing very early in the administration is closing up the Department of Education in Washington, D.C., and sending all education… back to the states.” This encapsulates his long-held belief that a Washington bureaucracy should not be setting the agenda for the nation’s schools.
After winning the election, Trump wasted no time acting on that pledge. He nominated Linda McMahon – better known for her tenure as a pro wrestling executive and Small Business Administration chief – to lead the Education Department precisely because he expected her to dismantle it. “I told Linda, ‘Linda, I hope you do a great job and put yourself out of a job.’ I want her to put herself out of a job,” Trump quipped to reporters according to NBC News, underscoring that McMahon’s ultimate assignment is to make the DOE obsolete. The President has even characterized the department as being beyond reform – claiming it has been infiltrated by “radicals, zealots and Marxists” – and suggested that only shutting it down can “restore” the system.
Trump’s rhetoric echoes a strain of conservative thought dating back decades. Since the DOE was created 1979 under President Carter, some Republicans have argued for its abolition. Ronald Reagan famously campaigned in 1980 on a promise to kill the newly formed Department of Education, though once in office, Reagan couldn’t muster enough support in Congress to follow through, commentary from the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, noted. Trump is reviving that agenda with unusual vigor. By instructing his Education Secretary to plan the agency’s endgame, he’s making arguably the most serious attempt yet to fulfill a promise that generations of Republicans have floated but never realized.
Notably, Trump’s push to shut down the Department of Education doesn’t mean a full retreat of federal influence in schooling. Even when discussing leaving education to the states, Trump has outlined aggressive federal interventions on hot-button issues. He has threatened to pull federal funding from any school “pushing Critical Race Theory, gender ideology, or other inappropriate… content,” according to NBC News. In short, Trump wants to eliminate what he sees as a bloated federal bureaucracy, but he is still willing to use Washington’s leverage to enforce specific education policies he favors. This dichotomy underpins the political strategy: shrink the department while wielding federal dollars as carrots and sticks to influence education outcomes.
Can Trump Legally Abolish The Education Department?
The big question: Is it possible for a president to shut down a Cabinet-level department like the Education Department? The short answer is no – at least not unilaterally. An act of Congress created the Education Department, and only Congress can formally abolish it. “You can’t just drop a bomb on the Department of Education and turn it into rubble,” Jonathan E. Collins, a Columbia University political science and education professor, told Time “Legally, it has to start with Congress, not the president.” In other words, Trump cannot simply issue an executive order to dissolve the Education Department overnight.
However, a president can take significant steps to weaken or dismantle an agency’s capabilities while waiting for Congress. According to reports, the Trump administration is drafting an executive order that would direct McMahon and her team to start winding down operations and draw up a plan for the department’s demise, notes Inside Higher Ed. This kind of order could freeze hiring, cut budgets, and direct that certain offices be shuttered or merged into other agencies. But without legislation, the legal authority and programs of the Education Department would remain intact – just possibly reassigned elsewhere. Indeed, even if the department’s headquarters were closed, the laws governing federal student loans, K-12 funding, and school civil rights enforcement would still be on the books. Those statutes would either need to be repealed by Congress or the responsibilities transferred to other parts of the government.
Historically, Congress has been reluctant to approve the outright elimination of the DOE. During Trump’s first term, for instance, his administration annually proposed deep budget cuts to education, only to be rebuffed as lawmakers increased the department’s funding, according to NBC News. In 2023, House conservatives pushed an amendment to abolish the department, but 60 Republicans joined Democrats to defeat the measure. As recently as this January, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) introduced a one-sentence bill declaring that the Education Department “shall terminate on December 31, 2026.”
Yet that proposal faces long odds in a closely divided Congress. Trump will need Congress’s cooperation to shutter the Education Department permanently, and that is far from guaranteed.
Policy Implications: What Happens If the Education Department Shuts Down?
What would it mean if Trump and McMahon ultimately succeeded in dismantling the Education Department? It’s important to note that eliminating the department would not erase federal involvement in education overnight. Instead, most experts say the key functions of the DOE would be relocated to other agencies or handled in new ways. The agency might disappear, but its most extensive programs would live on (unless Congress explicitly cuts them). Here are a few likely outcomes and changes if the Education Department were closed:
- Title I Funding for Low-Income K–12 Schools—This is the most significant federal money for public schools. A conservative blueprint called Project 2025 proposes moving Title I to the Department of Health and Human Services and converting it into block grants to states, according to NBC News.
- States would receive the funds without federal strings attached, a dramatic shift from current policy, which ties funds to accountability rules. Critics worry this could reduce oversight on how effectively money is spent on disadvantaged students.
- Federal Student Loans and Grants: The federal student aid apparatus (which handles Pell Grants and student loans) would still exist under new management. One idea circulating among conservatives is to move the Office of Federal Student Aid to the Treasury Department. The thinking is that student lending is essentially a financial operation – a mega-bank – better overseen by fiscal experts.
- Borrowers would still be obligated to repay their loans even if the Education Department vanishes; another agency or a new government corporation would service the loan accounts. (Put, your student debt would not be magically forgiven if the DOE closes – it doesn’t work like canceling a debt by closing a bank.
- However, specific loan forgiveness programs might be at risk. Initiatives like Public Service Loan Forgiveness and income-driven repayment rely on DOE administration and could be scaled back or require new legislation to continue.
In the near term, a push to shut down the Education Department could create confusion and delays in American education. College students might also experience hiccups in getting federal financial aid disbursements if the offices handling aid are in flux and if funding to student loan servicers is cut. Unless the shutdown is carefully coordinated, it could disrupt the flow of money and guidance that schools and universities have come to rely on.
On the flip side, supporters of the plan argue that a streamlined federal role would ultimately unleash innovation by freeing states from one-size-fits-all regulations. For instance, the Heritage Foundation’s education analysts applaud efforts to “eliminate the ineffective and unpopular Department of Education” and move its necessary functions elsewhere, according to Fox News.
They contend that the states can manage education with more local accountability and that any genuinely redundant or radical programs can be scrapped. McMahon’s memo itself frames the overhaul as a chance to cut red tape that “trapped…young Americans in failing schools” and to refocus on “meaningful learning” instead of “divisive” ideological programs.
Theoretically, a leaner federal apparatus could devote more attention to a few core missions (like funding disadvantaged students) and abandon the rest. Whether things would play out that smoothly in reality is highly debatable.
Political Hurdles To Education Department Shuttering
The campaign to shutter the Education Department is as much a political battle as an administrative one. Trump and McMahon face significant opposition from multiple fronts. Perhaps most notably, teachers’ unions — representing millions of educators — are staunchly against dismantling the DOE. Trump has complained that “the teachers’ unions are the only ones that are opposed to it. No one else would want to hold us back., according to Inside Higher Ed. In truth, it’s not just unions: A recent Wall Street Journal poll found 61% of registered voters oppose eliminating the department.
Democrats, for their part, have blasted Trump’s plan as extreme. They argue that closing the department would undermine public education and hurt vulnerable students. Senator Edward Markey (D-MA) warned that “dismantling the Department of Education would…mak[e] it harder for children to achieve and for parents, caregivers, and communities to thrive, according to Inside Higher Ed.
The Education Department Road Ahead: Final Mission Or Mission Impossible?
As Linda McMahon and her team embark on this “final mission,” for the Education Department in the coming months will reveal how much of Trump’s education agenda can realistically be achieved. Even with Republican majorities, shutting down an entire federal department is politically perilous—especially one that touches every state and school district. Lawmakers will have to answer to parents of special-needs children worried about IDEA funds, college students worrying about their loans and Pell Grants, and school superintendents unsure how Title I aid will flow.
Trump’s bold gambit is that he can overcome these objections by convincing Americans that the Education Department’s bureaucracy is a barrier to educational excellence rather than a guarantor. If he succeeds, it could mark a historic devolution of federal power, fundamentally altering the federal-state balance in schooling. Education policy would shift decisively into state hands, for better or worse, and the federal government’s role might be reduced to writing checks and enforcing fundamental civil rights from afar. On the other hand, if the political or logistical costs prove too high, we may see a compromise outcome: a dramatically slimmed-down DOE that survives in name, with fewer programs and employees.
All eyes are on the Education Department as it faces an uncertain future. Whether McMahon’s final mission spells the end of the Education Department or simply a transformation will depend on the battles in Washington in the months ahead. One thing is sure: America’s education landscape is poised for seismic change, and students, families, and educators should brace for impact. The idea of an Education Department shutdown is no longer theoretical – it’s a real political mission in progress, with outcomes that could redefine schooling for a generation.