Politics

Republicans have historically pushed against centralizing education policy believing that it is best left up to individual states and localities

Trump's allies also want to expand school choice which would allow students and families to use public money to select private or religious alternatives to public schools

Court rulings and Trump's policies have reversed some changes that former President Joe Biden attempted to make to lower borrowing costs and forgive some debts

During Ronald Reagan's 1980 presidential campaign he pushed for it to be dismantled

Trump would need congressional approval to get rid of the department and probably need a supermajority in the US Senate 60 out of 100 senators

Trump might struggle to gain necessary support in the House of Representatives

The executive order instructs her to ensure the effective and uninterrupted delivery of services programs and benefits on which Americans rely

The executive order does not include a timeline or deadline for the move which has faced legal challenges

Trump has moved to shrink other government departments in recent months despite questions about the legality of those moves

A vote last year to abolish the department failed to pass as 60 Republicans joined all Democrats in the House to oppose it

Trump's executive order directs Secretary McMahon to take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the agency and transfer authority to state and local governments

Trump announced plans in the spring to move student loans from the education department to the small business administration but was almost immediately blocked by a judge's order

Conservatives have long sought to eliminate the department almost from the moment it was established in 1979

A complete shuttering would most likely have to involve Congress so Trump's approach has been to dramatically shrink its reach and capacity

Six conservative justices voted to stop a lower court judge's order that had blocked the firings

Three liberals dissented

Trump signed an executive order to begin taking apart the agency that administers student loans runs programs to help low-income children and oversees some funding for public schools in the opening days of his second term

Trump called the ruling a major victory for parents and students that would pave the way to carrying out his executive order

Trump and his allies have accused the department of indoctrinating young people with racial sexual and political ideologies

They both handle a mix of stories including politics instruction test scores and curriculum