Donald Trump has set his sights on the U.S. Department of Education, taking steps to gut the institution through a fresh set of executive orders. On Tuesday, the former president and 2024 election winner is expected to sign new directives that align with his long-standing campaign promise to strip the federal government of its role in education. Though Congress alone has the power to abolish the department, Trump appears determined to dismantle it from within.
For years, Trump has accused the education system of being a bloated, liberal-controlled machine that wastes taxpayer money while failing students. Global education rankings place the U.S. behind several developed nations, yet Trump believes the issue isn’t underfunding but federal overreach. Throughout his campaign, he repeatedly vowed to return education decisions to individual states, arguing that the federal government has no business dictating school policies.
Elon Musk’s Influence and the Education Department’s Future
Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, has played an active role in Trump’s broader mission to shrink federal agencies. On Monday, Musk’s newly created “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) shut down the USAID humanitarian aid agency, however, some persons say will have disastrous consequences for global relief efforts. Now, his team has reportedly turned its attention to the Department of Education, fueling speculation that Trump’s executive orders will render it powerless.
Musk has openly endorsed Trump’s efforts, posting on his social media platform X that “President @realDonaldTrump will succeed” where Ronald Reagan failed. Reagan, a conservative icon, campaigned on eliminating the Education Department in the 1980s but ultimately left it intact. Trump, on the other hand, appears to be moving full steam ahead, leveraging Musk’s support and federal restructuring to weaken the agency.
Trump Appoints WWE’s Linda McMahon to Lead the Education Department
Trump has nominated Linda McMahon, former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, to lead the Department of Education. The appointment suggests that Trump has no real intention of strengthening the institution, but rather plans to sideline it entirely. McMahon, best known for running a billion-dollar wrestling empire alongside her husband, Vince McMahon, has no background in education policy.
Her connection to Trump, however, is far more entertaining. During a highly publicized wrestling event, Trump once body-slammed her husband in the ring before shaving his head on live television. Now, in a crazy plot twist no one saw coming, the former wrestling executive is being placed in charge of shaping national education policy.
With Trump’s aggressive push for executive action and Musk’s growing influence over federal operations, the Education Department appears to be facing its most uncertain future yet. If Trump gets his way, federal oversight of schools could become a thing of the past, leaving states to set their own rules, no matter how controversial. His choice of Linda McMahon only reinforces the belief that he isn’t interested in education reform but in tearing down the system entirely.
