Elon Musk has said President Donald Trump will “succeed” in shutting down the Department of Education.
The billionaire made the comments on his social media platform X in response to a report in The Washington Post that said Trump was preparing an executive order to dismantle the department.
Newsweek has contacted the White House, the Department of Education and Musk for comment via email.
Why It Matters
There has been growing speculation about what actions Trump would take with the Department of Education after returning to office in January.
He campaigned on a promise to shut down the federal department, saying the agency’s power should be turned over to states and schools.
The reported executive order comes as Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, has launched a sweeping effort to cut programs, fire federal workers and slash government spending. In recent days the Trump administration and Musk have moved to eradicate the U.S. Agency for International Development, which is responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance worldwide.
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What To Know
“Reagan campaigned on ending the federal Dept of Education, which was created by Carter in 1979, but it was bigger when Reagan left office than when he started!” Musk wrote in a post on his social media platform X on Monday night.
“Not this time. President @realDonaldTrump will succeed.”
The draft executive order that Trump is preparing acknowledges that only Congress can shut down the Department of Education, so directs the agency to begin diminishing its staff and functions, the Post reported, citing three people briefed on it.
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The newspaper also reported that about 20 people with DOGE have begun working inside the department in a bid to cut spending and staff numbers, citing three people familiar with the situation and records.
The Wall Street Journal reported the order being weighed would shut down functions that are not written explicitly into statute or move some to other departments. The newspaper, citing sources familiar with the matter, said the order would call for developing a legislative proposal to abolish the department.
A White House official confirmed to the Post that it is preparing for executive action later in February that would fulfill Trump’s pledge to defund the department.
Dozens of employees at the department have been put on paid administrative leave, The Associated Press reported, citing labor union American Federation of Government Employees Local 252, which represents hundreds of workers in the agency.
At least 55 employees received an email on Friday saying they were being put on leave because of Trump’s executive order banning diversity, equity and inclusion programs in the federal government, the AP reported. However, Sheria Smith, president of American Federation of Government Employees Local 252, said the majority of the employees put on leave do not work in DEI initiatives and span all branches of the agency.
Trump told Time magazine in December that he was planning a “virtual closure” of the Department of Education.
Asked to elaborate, he said: “Well, you’re going to need some people just to make sure they’re teaching English in the schools… But we want to move education back to the states. “
What People Are Saying
Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, responded to reports about the executive order on X, writing: “This is excellent. Do it. Dismantle the Dept. of Education and send the funds to the states.”
Representative Judy Chu, a Democrat from California, wrote on X that the Trump administration is: “Already drawing up plans to use the USAID playbook to shut down @usedgov. The Dept of Education provides grants for low-income students, enforces civil-rights laws, and administers our student-loan program.”
The Student Borrower Protection Center, a nonprofit, wrote on X: “They started w/USAID. Now they’re taking aim at @usedgov trying to dismantle the agency from within & now have gained access to personal info of millions of students & borrowers. NOBODY elected Elon Musk & his DOGE accomplices. They MUST be stopped.”
What’s Next
It’s not clear exactly when the Trump administration could take executive action regarding the Department of Education, but legal challenges would likely to follow.