Education Secretary Linda McMahon has pointed to the now 16-day-long government shutdown as perfect reasoning behind why her department is unnecessary to begin with, arguing that schools and state education systems have continued to function largely unaffected without federal oversight.
McMahon wrote Wednesday, in a post on X:
The Democrat government shutdown has forced agencies to evaluate what federal responsibilities are truly critical for the American people. Two weeks in, millions of American students are still going to school, teachers are getting paid, and schools are operating as normal. It confirms what the President has said: the federal Department of Education is unnecessary, and we should return education to the states.
The Department has taken additional steps to better reach American students and families and root out the education bureaucracy that has burdened states and educators with unnecessary oversight.
No education funding is impacted by the RIF, including funding for special education, and the clean CR supported by the Trump Administration will provide states and schools the funding they need to support all students.
The Democrat government shutdown has forced agencies to evaluate what federal responsibilities are truly critical for the American people. Two weeks in, millions of American students are still going to school, teachers are getting paid, and schools are operating as normal. It…
— Secretary Linda McMahon (@EDSecMcMahon) October 15, 2025
At the beginning of his term, President Trump signed an executive order with the goal of dismantling the Department of Education.
In a speech at the time, he said, "The department's useful functions … Pell Grants, Title I funding, resources for children with disabilities and special needs, will be preserved, fully preserved." However, those responsibilities would be reasigned to other existing federal agencies. "But beyond these core necessities, my administration will take all lawful steps to shut down the department," he concluded.
"The Secretary of Education shall, to the maximum extent appropriate and permitted by law, take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return authority over education to the States and local communities while ensuring the effective and uninterrupted delivery of services, programs, and benefits on which Americans rely," the order, signed in March, read.
