At the start of President Trump’s second term, he began discussing shutting down the Department of Education. On March 21, 2025, he officially signed an executive order to begin dismantling the Department of Education according to AP News. Since President Trump has returned to the White House, the department has announced to cut about half of its workforce, according to BBC News.  

A report from BBC News states the Department of Education oversees student loan programs and administers, as well as grants that help low-income students attend college. It also helps to fund programs to support students with disabilities and students living in poverty. The department enforces civil rights laws designed to prevent race or sex-based discrimination in federally funded schools.  

Around 4,400 people work for the Department of Education and that is their only source of income. The Trump Administration has planned to cut over half of those employees.  But Trump cannot dismantle the department on his own; Congress must approve of this and would need a majority in the US Senate. Over 60 out of 100 Senators would have to approve of this decision, states BBC.  

Republicans have a 53-47 majority in the Senate, which means they would need 7 Democratic Senators to vote to abolish it. BBC calls this a “political longshot.”  However, President Trump doesn’t often take no for an answer and seems to be continuing with his plan to abolish the department. His executive order directs Education Secretary Linda McMahon to “take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure.”  

It does not include a timeline for the department closure, but it is expected to face legal challenges according to BBC News.  

On Friday March 21, 2025, President Trump announced that all student loans from the Department of Education would be moved to the Small Business Administration.  If the Small Business Administration handles student loans it has caused people to reach out. In the past, when federal student loan borrowers accounts were transferred from one company to another, they experienced credit report errors and had almost all of their information lost according to CNBC News.  

Overall, President Donald Trump cannot dismantle this department by himself, and he would need a lot of support from Congress; it doesn’t look like he is stopping anytime soon.