Trump to sign order Thursday to begin dismantling of Education Department

President Donald Trump is poised to sign an executive order on Thursday to start the process of dismantling the Department of Education, two administration officials told CNN, a move that will begin fulfilling a major campaign promise.

President Donald Trump is poised to sign an executive order on Thursday to start the process of dismantling the Department of Education, two administration officials told CNN, a move that will begin fulfilling a major campaign promise. The president is set to make the move in a Thursday afternoon event at the White House. While entirely shuttering the Department of Education would require an act of Congress, the president will direct Secretary Linda McMahon to take “all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return education authority to the states,” one of the administration officials said. USA Today first reported on Thursday’s expected signing. CNN reported earlier this month that the White House was drafting the order to launch the process of closing the Department of Education. On the campaign trail, Trump promised that he would take steps to dismantle the agency once in office again, pointing to the department as a sign of federal overreach and tied it to culture war issues. “I told Linda (McMahon), ‘Linda, I hope you do a great job in putting yourself out of a job.’ I want her to put herself out of a job – Education Department,” Trump said in February.