Over the last few weeks, President Donald Trump has issued two executive orders that directed eight departments/ agencies to dismantle themselves, including the Department of Education (ED) and the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).
On March 14, President Trump signed an executive order titled “Continuing the Reduction of Federal Bureaucracy” that ordered seven government agencies to eliminate non-statutory components and functions and reduce the number of employees to the minimum required by law — the minimum the agency needs for operations.
Agencies listed on this executive order include:
- The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service
- The United States Agency for Global Media
- The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in the Smithsonian Institution
- The Institute of Museum and Library Services
- The United States Interagency Council on Homelessness
- The Community Development Financial Institutions Fund
- The Minority Business Development Agency
The American Library Association (ALA) released a statement mentioning that the IMLS was the only agency that public libraries relied on.
The ALA also stated that the dismantling of the IMLS would mean cutting off services they offer to the public. Similar responses came from the National Alliance to End Homelessness.
A few days later, on March 20, President Trump signed another executive order that started the dismantlement of the ED.
The executive order titled “Improving Education Outcomes by Empowering Parents, States and Communities” calls for the termination of the ED.
The executive order opens by stating how the ED has wasted taxpayer dollars and failed children, teachers and families.
It continues to talk about how the ED is reliable for student loans. The loan portfolios that the department currently manages as of March 20 total $1.6 trillion. The order compares this amount to being similar to the bank that manages the most loan portfolios, Wells Fargo.
The order further states that the ED is not a bank and does not have the correct staffing to properly manage this large amount of loan money.
It then ordered Secretary McMahon to take all legal and necessary steps to see the closure of the department without affecting the services, programs and benefits people rely on.
It closes with President Trump asking the secretary to make sure that schools and universities that are receiving federal funding are complying with federal law and administration policies, such as getting rid of any diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility programs.
Both executive orders do not completely eliminate any department/agency; such an act would need to go through Congress.
In fact, there is a history of failed attempts to close the departments/agencies listed in Trump’s executive orders. During the 115th, 116th, 117th and 118th Congresses, we have seen multiple pieces of legislation that called for the elimination of the ED.
The most recent one was H.R.899 from the 119th Congress, which was introduced on Jan. 31 of this year. The House referred the legislation to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.
H.R.899 is only one sentence long and reads, “This bill terminates the Department of Education on December 31, 2026.”
In the 118th Congress, an amendment that called for the ED’s removal was added to a bill that was introduced into the House of Representatives and established parents’ and guardians’ rights regarding public elementary or secondary school education.
That bill ended up failing with over 60 Republicans in the House voting against it,
Acts to close any department or agency would need a simple majority vote in the House of Representatives. As of March 27, there are 213 Democrats and 218 Republicans in the House, with four vacant seats. If a vote were to take place before the four vacant seats were filled and everyone was to be present, 216 votes in support of the bill would be needed to pass it.
If the bill passes in the House, it would then be sent to the Senate. It would need to get 60 votes to end any filibuster or to end discussion on the bill. After the discussion ends, it would then need a majority vote to officially pass the Senate.
As of March 25, there are 53 Republicans, 45 Democrats and two independents who caucus with Democrats in the Senate.
President Trump’s objective to close these departments would mean that he could only lose three votes in the House and four votes in the Senate, since if there was a tie, Vice President J.D. Vance would cast his vote.
But since 60 votes are needed in the Senate to end discussion on legislation, President Trump would need to convince eight Democrats to side with Republicans to end debate so a vote could take place.
It is thus unclear when we could see a piece of legislation from Congress to dismantle any department or agency.