Dismantling Education Department would put many students at risk, top Democrat says

Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.), the ranking member on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, says President Trump’s plan to dismantle the Department of Education would put students at risk across the country.

In a statement, Scott highlighted Trump’s plan to sign an executive order Thursday that would seek to disband the Education Department (ED) and return its authority to individual states.

Scott argued that there are many legal ramifications to doing so, and the action will be challenged in court.

“Legality aside, dismantling ED will exacerbate existing disparities, reduce accountability, and put low-income students, students of color, students with disabilities, rural students and English as a Second Language (ESL) students at risk,” Scott’s statement said.

Trump's executive order rolling up the department, a long-held goal of his, was first announced weeks ago but then delayed without a thorough explanation. The president is now expected to sign it Thursday in the East Room of the White House.

The move comes after the federal agency eliminated approximately half its workforce, with Education Secretary Linda McMahon telling staffers to prepare for their "final mission."

Scott said he believes the order is seeking to distract from the GOP agenda, accusing Republicans of “not working to address the real problems facing students and families.”

He argued that Trump’s order “has little regard for the irreparable harm” that it will cause students, educators and the country’s future workforce.

“This move will force more dedicated civil servants with invaluable institutional knowledge out of the federal government,” he said. “And they will be replaced with political appointees who answer only to President Trump, a man who has declared himself king, and an unelected billionaire, Elon Musk.”

Scott argued that through the order and dismantling of the department, Trump is implementing his own education philosophy, “which can be summed up in his own words, ‘I love the poorly educated.’”

While Trump’s plan of closing the department altogether is impossible without the help of Congress, he can significantly weaken or shrink it, potentially trying to move its congressionally mandated functions to other parts of the federal government.