Trump Administration Unveils Its Plan to Split Up the Education Department

The move is part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to shrink the size of the Department of Education.

Linda McMahon, Secretary of Education

Aaron Schwartz/Sipa USA via AP

The Department of Education announced on Tuesday its plans to give away much of its power to other agencies as the Trump administration takes steps to dismantle the department.

The shift, which the Trump administration said will be done through “partnerships” with the Departments of Labor, Interior, State and Health and Human Services, was presented as an effort to shrink the size of government. In rolling out the changes, the Department of Education said it would provide “proper oversight” of the other agencies as they administer programs related to education.

“The Trump Administration is taking bold action to break up the federal education bureaucracy and return education to the states,” Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said in a statement announcing the changes. “Cutting through layers of red tape in Washington is one essential piece of our final mission.”