Senate Education Committee Approves Bipartisan Bill to Block Trump Administration’s Efforts to Dismantle Education Department
On Thursday, the Senate education committee rebuked the Trump administration’s bid to dismantle the Education Department by approving a bipartisan bill designed to block the executive branch from gutting the agency. While closing the agency would require an act of Congress, the administration has utilized interagency agreements to transfer tens of billions of dollars in government programs out of the department through a piecemeal approach.
Legislation Aims to Maintain Core Components and Block Interagency Transfers
Sponsored by Senator Tim Kaine, Democrat of Virginia, the legislation is intended to maintain the department’s core components by blocking specific administrative moves. This includes preventing the transfer of services for disabled students to the Health and Human Services Department, elementary, secondary, and postsecondary student programs to the Labor Department, and Native American student programs to the Interior Department. Republicans Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska joined panel Democrats to advance the measure to the Senate floor, overcoming opposition from committee chairman Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Senator Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, who argued that lagging student test scores demonstrate the agency has failed in its mission.
Cabinet Members Defend Administrative Changes Amid Accusations of Bureaucratic Malpractice
Following the committee vote, Education Secretary Linda McMahon and several other cabinet members involved in the transition sent a letter to congressional leaders defending the moves. The correspondence asserted that the Education Department has spent $3 trillion since 1980 yielding only low test scores, high student loan debt, and excessive bureaucracy, while promising that the restructuring will streamline processes without disrupting students, parents, or educators. Conversely, Education Department spokeswoman Savannah Newhouse condemned lawmakers for supporting the legislation, characterizing their actions as premature sabotage that prevents the elimination of bureaucratic barriers.
Advocacy Groups Raise Concerns Over Oversight and Leadership Concerns
Outside advocacy groups have criticized the administrative shifts, arguing that relocating the offices for special education and civil rights effectively weakens oversight following drastic staff reductions in those sectors. Furthermore, these organizations have voiced alarm over Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s views on autism, contending they render him unfit to oversee education programs for students with disabilities.
