WashingtoncTypeface:> US President Donald Trump was to sign an executive order on Thursday that aimed to dismantle the Department of Education, the White House said.
The move, which he promised to do on the campaign trail, is already facing legal challenges from those seeking to block the department’s closure as well as the sweeping cuts to its staff announced last week.
Trump has long called for the department to be axed, a cherished goal of some conservatives, but completely eliminating it would require approval by Congress.
And that is seen as unlikely given the slim 53-47 majority Republicans hold in the Senate. Major legislation such as closing a department would require 60 votes.
But even if the department is not formally closed down, the Trump administration could decimate its funding and staff as it has done with the US Agency for International Development (USAID), which subsequently stopped the vast majority of its programmes and humanitarian work.
The president’s education department order was expected to be signed during a ceremony at the White House. (Agencies)
