U.S. President Donald Trump will sign a long-anticipated executive order on Thursday that aims to shut down the Department of Education, the White House said on Wednesday, fulfilling a key campaign pledge.

The move is already being challenged by a group of Democratic state attorneys general, who filed a lawsuit last week seeking to block the Trump administration from dismantling the department and halt the firing of nearly half of its staff.

The order directs Education Secretary Linda McMahon to "take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure (of) the Department of Education and return education authority to the States, while continuing to ensure the effective and uninterrupted delivery of services, programs, and benefits on which Americans rely."

It also mandates that any programs or activities receiving remaining Department of Education funds should not "advance DEI or gender ideology," according to a White House fact sheet.

The order was first reported in early March.

Trump has repeatedly called for eliminating the department, calling it "a big con job." He proposed shuttering it in his first term as president, but Congress did not act.

Published on March 20, 2025