Trump’s Plans for the Department of Education

On a recent segment of Fox Business, legal analyst Greg Jarrett discussed President Donald Trump’s efforts to reshape the federal education system.

Following a Supreme Court decision allowing the Department of Education to proceed with substantial cuts, the department is set to recall nearly 1,400 employees. Jarrett pointed out during “The Evening Edit” that while Trump can’t completely dismantle the Department of Education without Congressional approval, which was established back in 1979, the layoffs happening now are within legal limits, assuming Congress’s directives are respected.

According to Jarrett, some educational programs have already been reassigned to other federal entities that are perhaps better equipped to handle them, like labor programs and student loans moving to the Department of Treasury.

Jarrett emphasized that the shift aims to transfer control over educational funding from federal authorities in Washington, D.C., to state and local governments.

“The end goal is to change who has the primary say in how students’ funds are allocated,” he explained. “By cutting through the bureaucratic delays in D.C., this should ultimately aid students.”

He also mentioned that Trump’s power under Article 2 of the Constitution enables the president to manage federal employees, a view supported by the recent ruling from the Supreme Court. He remarked, “It’s a chaotic situation, and Trump is taking steps to bring it under control. This was straightforward—there’s a long-standing precedent that allows the president to hire and fire within the executive branch,” Jarrett conveyed to host Elizabeth MacDonald, referencing the Supreme Court’s endorsement of Trump’s workforce reduction efforts.

Back in March, Trump had enacted an executive order aimed at dismantling the Department of Education. In that move, student loan management was delegated to small business administrators, while programs for special needs and nutrition were transferred to the Department of Health and Human Services, alongside encouraging several states to challenge Education Secretary Linda McMahon over the undergraduate decision.

In May, however, a federal judge nominated by Biden, Mainge J. Jooun, halted the Department of Education’s plan to significantly cut its workforce.

In response to the Supreme Court’s ruling on Monday, McMahon stated, “The Supreme Court has reaffirmed the obvious—the President of the United States has the ultimate authority over staffing and the operational management of federal agencies.”

Notably, Justices Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, and Ketanji Brown Jackson voiced their disagreement with the ruling.