In a significant move to fulfil a long-standing pledge, the Trump administration is rapidly advancing its plan to dismantle the US Education Department.
A Major Step Towards Dismantling
According to a source briefed on the matter, the department initiated this process on Tuesday 18 November 2025. The plan involves handing off some of its most substantial grant programmes to other federal agencies. This action marks the most substantial progress yet in the administration's efforts to close the department, a goal President Donald Trump set in motion with an executive action back in March.
Billions in Funding on the Move
The mechanism for this transfer involves six planned agreements that the Education Department is preparing to sign. These agreements will effectively shift the management of billions of dollars in federal grants away from the department. A particularly notable change involves transferring authority over some of the largest federal funding streams for K-12 schools to the Department of Labor.
Accelerated Timeline and Implications
Until now, the administration's strategy for eliminating the department has primarily focused on cutting jobs. This new development, however, represents a major acceleration of the closure plan. By redistributing its core functions and multi-billion dollar budgets to other agencies, the administration is taking concrete steps to wind down the federal government's primary education body.
