Trump signs order closing Education Department to ‘maximum extent appropriate’
Naaz Modan
March 20, 2025
The directive comes on the heels of U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon’s decision to gut half the agency as its “final mission.”
President Donald Trump on Thursday afternoon ordered U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon to “take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education,” marking the boldest push from the president to shut down the agency since its establishment under the Carter administration over four decades ago.
Trump also said prior to the signing that he intends to disperse the department’s core functions — such as Pell Grants, Title I funding, and providing funding and resources for students with disabilities — to other parts of the government.
