US President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order on Thursday, March 20 that seeks to close the Department of Education.
This action aligns with a promise he made during his election campaign.
As per multiple outlets, before President Trump even signed the order, a group of Democratic state attorneys general had already filed a lawsuit to stop him from shutting down the Department of Education.
They aimed to prevent the department’s closure and also to stop the layoffs of nearly half of its staff which had been announced the previous week.
NAACP President Derrick Johnson said in a statement, noting, "This is a dark day for the millions of American children who depend on federal funding for a quality education, including those in poor and rural communities with parents who voted for Trump.”
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Trump and Elon Musk have tried to shut down government programs and agencies, like the US Agency for International Development without approval from Congress.
However, closing the Department of Education would be Trump's first attempt to eliminate a major government agency at the cabinet level.
As per the reports, Trump cannot close the Department of Education without Congress passing a law which would be difficult.
Although Republicans have a 53-47 majority in the Senate, major legislation like shutting down a cabinet-level agency requires 60 votes.
This means at least seven Democrats would need to support it but so far Senate Democrats have shown no sign of doing so.
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