More than 60,000 people have signed a petition urging Congress to block President Donald Trump's efforts to shut the Department of Education.
Why It Matters
Trump is reportedly preparing to gut the Department of Education, after saying on the campaign trail that it was infiltrated by "radical zealots and Marxists."
But some have questioned how far he can go without Congress, given some of the department's most significant programs are authorized by federal legislation and only an act of Congress can close the agency.
What To Know
The Wall Street Journal first reported that the White House is preparing an executive order that would enact cuts to staff at the agency and shut down all functions of the department that are not written explicitly into statute, as well as urge Congress to pass a measure abolishing the department entirely.
It comes as Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, has been working to shrink the federal workforce and slash government spending.
The MoveOn petition, which was launched last month, demands that members of Congress block any attempt by Trump to abolish the education department.
"President Trump has already made clear his intentions to get rid of public education at every turn—including with his latest extreme proposal to completely eliminate the Department of Education," it says.
"We're not going to stand by and allow Trump to starve students and teachers across the country of the funding and support they rely on through the Department of Education. Any dissolution of a federal agency requires approval from Congress. Demand members of Congress protect every students' right to an education and block any attempts to abolish the Department of Education!"
As of early Thursday, the petition had garnered 62,715 signatures.
What People Are Saying
The petition reads: "The Department of Education plays an important role in protecting students from discrimination, advancing student achievement, granting financial aid, enhancing funding for nearly all public schools as state and local governments underfund public education, and working towards equity in education for all students, especially for low-income communities and students with disabilities.
"We need to increase federal funding for education—not completely gut the only federal institution committed to it."
Trump told reporters on Tuesday that he wants Linda McMahon, his nominee for education secretary, "to put herself out of a job." He said: "We spend more per pupil than any other country in the world and we're ranked at the bottom of the list, we're ranked very badly. What I want to do is let the states run schools."
Becky Pringle, the president of the National Education Association, said in a statement that eliminating the department would be "giving up on our future."
Pringle said: "If it became a reality, Trump's power grab would steal resources for our most vulnerable students, explode class sizes, cut job-training programs, make higher education more expensive and out of reach for middle class families, take away special education services for students with disabilities, and gut student civil rights protections."
What's Next
It is not yet clear how soon the Trump administration could take executive action to dismantle the Department of Education.
A White House official confirmed to The Washington Post that it is preparing a move later in February.
It's also not clear whether there would be enough support in Congress, where Republicans have narrow majorities in the House and Senate, to close the department entirely.
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