President-elect Trump proposed abolishing the Department of Education during the 2024 campaign trail, and a Republican lawmaker presented a bill to accomplish so on Thursday.
The “Returning Education to Our States Act” was introduced in the Senate by Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., and it would abolish the Department of Education and assign some of its current duties and programs to other agencies.
When he ran for president, Trump stated, “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 and education work it needs back to the states.”
Some analysts questioned his capacity to accomplish this, pointing out that he would require consent from Congress. But he might have it with Rounds’ bill and an impending Republican trifecta in Washington, D.C.
In a statement given to Fox News Digital, Rounds stated, “It’s long past time to end this bureaucratic Department that causes more harm than good. The federal Department of Education has never educated a single student.” “We all know that when it comes to education, local governance works best. Every South Dakotan who grew up there may recall a teacher who had a significant influence on their schooling. State Departments of Education and local school boards, not unelected bureaucrats in Washington, D.C., are the ones who know what their pupils need most.
“I’ve been trying to get the federal Department of Education out for years. The fact that President-elect Trump has this vision makes me happy, and I can’t wait to collaborate with him and the Republican majorities in the House and Senate to see it through to completion. By essentially relocating these federal programs to their own departments, this measure serves as a blueprint for dismantling the federal Department of Education, which will be crucial as we enter the upcoming year,” he added.
The Democratic National Committee sent Fox News Digital an exclusive statement in response to the bill’s publishing. Referencing the policy agenda led by conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation, DNC spokesperson Alex Floyd stated, “Donald Trump is hellbent on abolishing the Department of Education — and his MAGA lackeys are already pushing legislation to make his disastrous Project 2025 plans a reality.” Notably, neither Trump nor his campaign acknowledged any connection to Project 2025.
“Trump has made it quite evident that he will endanger our public schools from the start by appointing unfit millionaire Linda McMahon as Education Secretary and making inflammatory remarks against education spending during the campaign trail. “Democrats will always fight back to protect public education, regardless of the blatant attacks that Trump and his MAGA enablers launch against educators and students,” Floyd added.
In the senator’s plan, the Department of Interior would take over several Native American education programs, the Department of Treasury would take over loan and grant programs, the Department of Health and Human Services would oversee disability programs, the Department of Labor would take over career programs, and the State Department would take over the Fulbright-Hays Program, which “supports research and training efforts overseas.”
The new law follows Trump’s announcement earlier this week that he intends to choose former World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) CEO Linda McMahon to head the Department of Education.
“It is my great honor to announce that Linda McMahon, former Administrator of the Small Business Administration, will be the United States Secretary of Education,” he stated in a statement regarding the appointment.
