The White House continues its efforts to dismantle the Department of Education, which Congress just fully funded.
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Fox – 5 Atlanta
WASHINGTON – For the past year, Republicans in Congress have cheered President Donald Trump’s efforts to dismantle the Department of Education.
But those same lawmakers just reached an agreement with Democrats to provide more, not less, funding for the agency’s remaining funds compared to last year.
Congress’ annual spending bill, which President Trump signed into law on Feb. 3, fully reserved spending for many of the department’s programs, including special education and after-school activities. Even programs that the Trump administration unilaterally cut or ignored, sparking lawsuits, received near-normal levels of support.
Although it was a mixed victory for Democrats, the bipartisan agreement represented a quiet rebuke from Republicans for President Trump’s pledge to curb the federal role in education policy. And the end result was to set aside about $80 billion for the Education Department in fiscal year 2026, underscoring the political limitations of one of the White House’s most ambiguous goals.
It also highlighted the logistical difficulties of trying to completely abolish a government agency that states, schools, and students across the country rely on for entrenched (albeit limited) functions. The Department of Education has widely popular programs to protect students with disabilities, help schools hire counselors, and make college more affordable.
For the past half century, Republican forces in Washington have sought to abolish this government agency created during the Jimmy Carter era. But doing so would require a vote in Congress (and the support of at least some Democrats). It’s never as easy as you think.
“My takeaway is that Congress has rejected virtually all of the president’s requests,” said Sarah Abernathy, executive director of the nonprofit Education Funding Board.
As President Trump has spent a year dismantling the Department of Education, “Republicans in Congress have taken a hands-off approach until this bill is introduced,” she said.
The Department of Education will remain divided (for now)
The bill wasn’t exactly what Democrats wanted, but it directs money to where it matters most, said Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., who is familiar with funding negotiations and served on the House Education Committee.
“One of the big challenges was how do we stop the government from misusing, seizing or canceling the funds we gave them,” she told USA TODAY. “By being more specific about what you’re going to do with the money and what you’re trying to do with it, you should be able to have more influence in court and elsewhere.”
The situation remains far from ideal for Democrats. They tried unsuccessfully to prevent Education Secretary Linda McMahon from implementing further cuts in the future. Even though her agency has already been cut to a fraction of what it was just a year ago.
One of the final deadlocks in negotiations on Capitol Hill was over a provision that would prevent President Trump from continuing to dismantle federal agencies and funnel their employees and programs to other branches of the federal government.
In November, Secretary McMahon announced six so-called “interagency agreements” detailing a number of staff to the Departments of Labor, State, Interior, and Health and Human Services. That reorganization has already begun. Affected programs include Title I funding for low-income schools, historically black colleges and universities, grants to charter schools, and many other important functions.
The Democratic Party attempted to overturn these agreements by including measures to overturn them, but failed.
“We continue to deliver success through these partnerships, further solidifying our proof of concept that interagency agreements provide equal protections, higher quality outcomes, and more benefits for students, grant recipients, and other education stakeholders,” Education Department spokeswoman Savannah Newhouse said in a statement to USA TODAY.
Trump administration to regularly brief Congress on Department of Education
Democrats were unable to accept one of their key demands, but they forced a compromise by forcing Trump administration officials to brief them biweekly on ongoing efforts to move Education Department offices to other agencies. It also included language clarifying limits on Trump’s reorganization (mainly that McMahon could not redirect funds or resources that should legally remain at the Department of Education).
Democrats and their allies saw the regular meetings on The Hill as an opportunity for more accountability. Rachel Gittleman, president of the Education Department employees union, said lawmakers clearly rejected the Trump administration’s efforts to transfer employees to other agencies.
“We want Congress to hold its foot to the fire,” she said.
Republicans, on the other hand, said they felt the compromise vindicated President Trump’s reshuffle of the Education Department and justified voting to send additional funding to the department.
Sen. Mike Rounds told USA TODAY that “many of the offices that are getting funding are perfectly well designed, just like they are in other government agencies.” South Dakota Republicans introduced a bill in Congress last year that would completely eliminate the Department of Education. Lacking support from Democrats and vigilance from some key Republicans, the bill failed upon completion.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), a member of the Senate Education Committee, said the failure of this effort, combined with the success of the Education Department funding bill, points to key issues for Republicans in the Trump 2.0 era.
They don’t want to ignore their party’s leaders, she told USA TODAY. But they also don’t want to eliminate popular Department of Education programs that voters rely on.
“What Republicans have landed on is certainly not condoning the removal of the Department of Education, but it’s not an all-out backlash against those who want to end it,” Warren said. “That’s the moment we get anxious.”
Zachary Schermele is a Congressional reporter for USA TODAY. You can email us at zschermele@usatoday.com. Follow him on X at @ZachSchermele and on Bluesky at @zachschermele.bsky.social..
