Seattle, WA – Washington Democrats are condemning the Trump administration’s reported plans to dismantle the Department of Education through executive order. The Department distributes billions of dollars in resources to schools across the country and plays a crucial regulatory role assisting students with disabilities, as well as unhoused students and those who come from low-income families. The Department is also tasked with ensuring that students’ civil rights are protected, managing student loan debt, and overseeing the system of accreditation for colleges and universities.

Trump’s installation of Linda McMahon, a former professional wrestling promoter with no experience in education, as Secretary of Education, was a clear warning sign that he fully intended to implement The Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 goals of eliminating the Department of Education. 

“Eliminating the Department of Education will pull taxpayer dollars away from children and schools to give billions in tax cuts to Trump’s billionaire friends and cabinet members. It is immoral. Full stop,” said Chair Shasti Conrad. “Teachers will lose their jobs, special education programs will be gutted, and crumbling schools won’t have resources for repairs. The Trump policy of ‘Every Child Left Behind,’ must not be allowed to proceed. The Department of Education was created by an act of Congress, funded by Congress, and only Congress has the power and authority to end its mission of providing quality education to every child in our country. The President who failed to contain a pandemic which shuttered schools and caused immeasurable pain and suffering for our students now wants to steal from the pockets of teachers and special needs students to line the pockets of oligarchs. I know that Washington’s Governor and Attorney General will be watching this overreach closely and I pray America’s courts will roundly reject this unconstitutional order.”