Trump Has Vowed to Close the Department of Education–How Would That Work?

The Department of Education could essentially become just a big building with empty offices.

U.S. Department of Education building in Washington on July 6, 2023. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

In September 2023, Donald Trump’s presidential campaign announced 10 principles for reforming education. Chief among them was closing the Department of Education in Washington, and sending “all education work and needs back to the states.”

The president-elect has maintained that pledge, even though he appointed a secretary of education (Linda McMahon) to lead a federal agency he vowed to eliminate.