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Eliminating the U.S. Department of Education, Explained
Dan Currell /

Eliminating the U.S. Department of Education, Explained

Shuttering the department would likely require congressional action, but efforts to curb its activities have already begun.
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Linda McMahon, President Donald Trump's education secretary nominee, arrives for her confirmation hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee in Washington, D.C., on February 13, 2025. (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

Judging from the rhetoric emanating from Washington, D.C., the U.S. Department of Education appears to be living on borrowed time. President Donald Trump has said that he wants to scale it down, then work with Congress to abolish it. His nominee for education secretary, Linda McMahon, echoed that intention in her confirmation hearing.

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Dan Currell

Dan Currell was deputy undersecretary and senior adviser in the U.S. Department of Education from 2018 to 2021. He is a trustee of Gustavus Adolphus College.

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