The planned order follows years of campaign promises from President Donald Trump to abolish the department — something he cannot do without congressional approval.

Summary

The White House is drafting an executive order to dismantle the Department of Education, aligning with Trump’s long-standing pledge.

However, Congress must approve the agency’s abolition, making its passage unlikely despite GOP control. Critics, including the National Education Association, warn this move would harm students, increase costs, and weaken protections.

GOP lawmakers have repeatedly attempted to eliminate the department since its 1979 founding.

Trump also recently signed an order expanding school choice, reinforcing the Republican agenda of decentralizing education policy.

  • endeavor@sopuli.xyzEnglish
    41·
    2 hours ago

    This is a good choice as they just sit around and do nothing all day anyway considering who got elected.

  • DarkFuture@lemmy.worldEnglish
    421·
    9 hours ago

    In case anyone is still wondering if Republicans are enemies of the United States of America, you need not wonder anymore.

  • meowmeowbeanz@sh.itjust.works
    32·
    10 hours ago

    The executive order’s a symbolic gesture—Congress won’t scrap the Department outright. But the subtext? Steady erosion. Shift student debt oversight to Treasury, pare back civil rights investigations, let federal education funds atrophy. States then fill the vacuum: red ones push vouchers, defund “woke” curricula, blue ones scramble to plug gaps.

    The playbook’s transparent. Undermine trust in public institutions, then offer “choice” as salvation. Rural GOP districts take the bait, then recoil when their Title I lunches and special ed services evaporate. Even conservatives quietly rely on federal data systems and grant streams—hypocrisy’s baked in.

    Latest school choice expansions? Distraction tactics. Real damage accrues in the margins: disabled students lose protections, civil rights complaints backlog, teacher retention plummets. ED’s survived 40 years of GOP vitriol because dismantling it’s all optics, no payoff.

    Predictable cycle. Provoke outrage, let chaos incentivize privatization. Rinse, repeat.

    • Queen HawlSera@lemm.eeEnglish
      2·
      2 hours ago

      The playbook’s transparent. Undermine trust in public institutions, then offer “choice” as salvation.

      So that’s the game

    • Kayday@lemmy.world
      6·
      10 hours ago

      Congress doesn’t need to be okay with it if Elon’s cronies waltz in and kick everyone out.

  • Viking_Hippie@lemmy.dbzer0.com
    68·
    12 hours ago

    The White House is drafting an executive order a royal decree to dismantle the Department of Education, aligning with Trump’s long-standing pledge long con.

    Critics An overwhelming consensus of experts, including the National Education Association, warn this move would harm students, increase costs, and weaken protections.

    Trump also recently signed an order expanding school choice a decree lowering educational standards, reinforcing the Republican agenda of decentralizing education policy dismantling public secular education in favor of religious and political indoctrination.

    There, fixed the “we must obscure reality by using their terms so they won’t come after us next” cowardice.

  • w3dd1e@lemm.ee
    30·
    12 hours ago

    If the Federal Government doesn’t want to be responsible for anything, why even be a country? Each state be their own I guess /s

    Also are they going to reduce taxes for all the cuts? Doubt it, but states would have to make increases to cover all the new work.

    we live in the dumbest timeline.

    • mostNONheinous@lemmy.worldEnglish
      23·
      11 hours ago

      Literally what the fuck are we paying taxes for, they are dismantling every bit of representation of the people possible. Well only have ruch fucks and bombs left to pay for.

      • rumba@lemmy.zipEnglish
        11·
        11 hours ago

        The collective “we” voted to give all of our money over to Trump I just council of billionaires.

    • Mirshe@lemmy.world
      21·
      11 hours ago

      You laugh, this is literally Curtis Yarvin’s (one of Elon’s mentors) vision of America. A patchwork of corporatocratic fiefdoms, technically beholden to a federal government that basically only exists to be the arm of violence. The whole “no authority higher than a county sheriff” thing? Came out of his books. The idea of being “educated” will only be for the vaunted manager-class. All of us not lucky enough to be in the millionaire’s club, or one of their trusted lackeys, will be lucky to know how to read beyond a 3rd-grade level, or do math beyond simple arithmetic.

  • YtA4QCam2A9j7EfTgHrH@infosec.pub
    219·
    16 hours ago

    Congress is required for all sorts of shit that Elon is doing but that isn’t stopping Elon.

    Laws are not some sort of natural force. They are implemented by people and all of those people are either fascists or cowards.

    Trumps immunity plus his pardon power make him king. All of his minions can do all the illegal things they want. Trump can then pardon them and he isn’t liable for their crimes if he is doing something roughly in line with his duties are President. John Roberts fucked us all.

    The only way this is going to be solved is by people power. Organize. Fight these fascists.

    • takeda@lemm.eeEnglish
      45·
      14 hours ago

      This is exactly why musk is not appointed, he can’t be impeached and as you said DOJ and pardons will protect him.

    • Landless2029@lemmy.world
      17·
      12 hours ago

      They already blocked organization by controlling the mass media and major social platforms are in cahoots.

      Facebook, Twitter/X and tiktok all pushed trump and hid Kamala during the campaign. Not to mention the influencers that got paid to push Trump.

      Any type of hashtag or trend that tries to fight back is just going to get pushed down in “the algorithm” or straight up blocked (search kamala on twitter)

      • wanderingmagus@lemm.ee
        4·
        9 hours ago

        That’s why word-of-mouth about the Fediverse is so powerful - and why it’ll become increasingly important to return to the old methods of organizing - in person, posters put up at night, meetings in basements and in homes, discussions in back alleys and storage closets. Zines and fliers.

      • finitebanjo@lemmy.world
        4·
        10 hours ago

        The thing to do to stop this was vote blue no matter who in the 2016 and 2024 elections. Failing that, you’ll have to convince 13 Republicans to impeach and remove Donald Trump.

        But guess what? That won’t happen. No matter what, we’re going to see people suffer and violence in the streets. Whether you’re keeping yourself safe at home or contributing to the violence is up to you.

      • YtA4QCam2A9j7EfTgHrH@infosec.pub
        8·
        11 hours ago

        Here is a single thing that anyone should be doing, there are other resources elsewhere. But everyone should be working with their unions or forming unions at their places of work. It is surprisingly easy to do, and even MAGA people can recognize they are being fucked by capital. Unionizing the workplace is where our power lies. It is the thing that fascists have always feared. Use those unions to gain concessions from the bosses. Get higher wages, safer work environments, set schedules, etc.

        Ok, here is a second idea. Feed your neighbors. Go help feed the homeless folk in your community.

        Showing compassion for everyone is a radical act. Build solidarity.

    • DrFistington@lemmy.world
      2·
      11 hours ago

      Correct. If you want to see how fascism ends, look at pictures of Mussolini’s corpse hanging in public. That’s the only way it ends. The sooner the better

      • finitebanjo@lemmy.world
        2·
        10 hours ago

        0 cosponsors and probably hasn’t even been looked at by the education committed it was submitted to.

        We’re wasting time talking about theoretical nonlaws when theres actual real shit happening.

        • hansolo@lemm.eeEnglish
          1·
          2 hours ago

          For real. Plus it’s Dem-sponsored, so until it gets an R cosponsor it’s likely not even going to make it to the floor.

  • ChonkyOwlbear@lemmy.world
    121·
    16 hours ago

    It might be worth mentioning that Andrew Johnson signed the Department of Education into law in 1867. It was elevated to a cabinet position in 1979 by Carter from it’s previous position within the Department of Health, Education, And Welfare.

    The idea that the government has a constitutional interest in fostering the education of the public is NOT a new thing contrary to what conservatives would have you believe. An educated populace is an essential function of a representative democracy.

      • IndescribablySad@threads.net@sh.itjust.works
        29·
        15 hours ago

        But I can’t figure out why. A society with severe brain drain would lead to reduced quality of life for them as well. Are they just banking on AI to do everything while everyone dies in rebellions and counter-rebellions? Shit, that’s probably it.

        • YtA4QCam2A9j7EfTgHrH@infosec.pub
          62·
          15 hours ago

          Fascists aren’t particularly smart. They tend to lose in the long run because they just cannot comprehend anything complex. All their philosophy is wishful thinking and simple heuristics that follow their preconceived notions about the superiority of their in group.

          They want feudalism because they can’t stand anyone having power other than the people who deserve to rule. They can’t stand that non elites can vote, demand decent wages, etc. so they want feudalism without understanding the downstream effects of that.

          They are just fucking dumb. And that is why, if we get enough time, we will win against them. Climate change might get us. But we will fucking destroy these no knowing fuck wits.

        • ChonkyOwlbear@lemmy.world
          7·
          12 hours ago

          They measure their quality of life by their ability to dominate others. On top of the desire for feudalism for many of them is a desire for theocracy. For them politics peaked at the divine right of kings.

        • jonne@infosec.pub
          8·
          14 hours ago

          Yeah, I also don’t understand why they’re aiming for this kind of society. Eventually they’ll cut so much that the actual pie will shrink, so they’ll end up getting less while being surrounded by slums.

  • The Pantser@lemmy.world
    391·
    13 hours ago

    Good luck to your kids and grandkids, education is fucked. Back to the feudal times where only royalty and the rich were educated. If this passes I am not paying student loans anymore. The department that issued them will be gone so why pay.

  • dx1@lemmy.world
    91·
    10 hours ago

    Remember when Bush pushed the “No Child Left Behind Act”, and we all realized the federalization of control over education was deeply problematic and removed democratic control over education? Pepperidge Farm remembers.

    The government not handling every social function in society isn’t scary on its own. That in combination with the people as a whole having no control over the economy is when that becomes nasty (i.e., economic inequality). That is of course the vision of the ruling class.

    • kylie_kraft@lemmy.world
      36·
      15 hours ago

      DoE gets in the way of funneling the money to the churches corporations.

      Let’s not kid ourselves, the churches will get some money for taking the poor kids, but the goal is to privatize education so that corporations can profit from schooling even more than they already have.

      • DeathsEmbrace@lemm.eeEnglish
        7·
        15 hours ago

        I’m just warning you that education is seen as an “investment”, they are already on the capitalist pigs pathway and well with so many fat pigs I think dirty pork would be best to feed the population.

  • Mighty@lemmy.world
    47·
    15 hours ago

    I’m so sorry, Americans. I’m not sure who is even able to liberate your country. You and the Russians liberated the camps in Europe at the end of WW2, but who’s there for you? I think you might need to liberate yourself. Again. I’m sorry. Good luck

    • fosho@lemmy.caEnglish
      1·
      15 minutes ago

      perhaps Germany will fight against the Nazis this time around?

    • samus12345@lemm.eeEnglish
      3·
      12 hours ago

      There isn’t anyone. Do everything you can to protect your country from us!

  • IninewCrow@lemmy.caEnglish
    511·
    16 hours ago

    Let em keep chopping off the federal government … at one point, individual states will start wondering why they are all interconnected in a union that doesn’t do anything or provide any benefits any more and start acting like independent nations.