Which department of the US government is least favored by Trump?
The answer is simple: the US Department of Education.
According to US media reports, Trump has recently vowed to fulfill his promise and abolish the Department of Education.
In fact, the US Department of Education has always been a target of his attacks during the election campaign.
For example, at a campaign rally in Wisconsin in September, Trump solemnly declared, “I’ve been saying that I really want to come back and do this. We ultimately canceled the federal Department of Education
After a pause, he said, “We will drain the government’s education swamp, stop abusing your taxpayers’ money, and indoctrinate young Americans with all kinds of things you don’t want our young people to hear
During an interview with Musk during the campaign, Trump also said that one of his top priorities if elected would be to “shut down the Department of Education and return education to the states,” and he added, “I bet 35 out of 50 states will do a great job
Anyway, in Trump’s eyes, the US Department of Education is a completely corrupt yamen that spends money recklessly and, most importantly, corrupts young people, making them unaware of patriotism, especially the protection of various transgender individuals, which is simply a miasma.
Trump is very angry.
So, he swore that after he took office, the Department of Education in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States, would dissolve and transfer the power of curriculum standards, funding allocation, and student evaluation to the states below, “Each state knows best how to educate its own students
The reason why it is said to be ‘again’ is very simple. During the Trump 1.0 era, he wanted to do it this way.
At that time, Trump proposed to merge the Department of Education and the Department of Labor.
But what disappointed Trump was that although the Senate and House of Representatives were also in Republican hands at the time, Congress remained indifferent and did not cooperate with his proposal to dissolve the Department of Education.
Now, entering the Trump 2.0 era, Trump intends to make a big move, and the Department of Education naturally bears the brunt.
Interestingly, if you have watched ‘House of Cards’, you will find that the first thing the new president did after taking office was to push for the passage of a comprehensive education reform bill.
Why the Ministry of Education?
It’s simple. To borrow a line from “House of Cards,” the new president is interested in education mainly because “the immigration controversy is too big and tax reform is not eye-catching enough, but everyone can fight for their children.
Speaking of which, the US Department of Education is the masterpiece of former US President Carter, who is still alive at the age of 100.
The reason why the Ministry of Education was established at that time was that Americans believed that some educational affairs could not be completed by local governments and school districts alone, and needed nationwide coordination and overall planning, especially in ensuring education equity.
In 1979, Democratic President Carter signed the law into law; In 1980, the US Department of Education officially operated as a cabinet department. Carter also fulfilled his campaign promise to the All American Teachers’ Union.
The government department established by the Democratic Party naturally displeases the Republican Party.
In 1981, Reagan became the President of the United States with the intention of targeting the newly established Department of Education.
Reagan was also ambitious, proposing to dissolve the Department of Education and transfer its related functions to other government departments. But this was not accepted by Congress, and Reagan did not give up, cutting one-third of the employees in the Department of Education and significantly reducing its funding.
This has had a long-term impact on the US Department of Education. At present, the Ministry of Education has approximately 5000 employees and is considered the smallest cabinet department in the United States.
Even so, Trump is still very unhappy. What he failed to accomplish the first time, now he has to continue to work hard.
Can it be done?
Hard to say.
I read CNN’s analysis that adding and dissolving a cabinet department requires approval from both houses of the US Congress. But even if Congress is in the hands of the Republican Party, there is still significant resistance.
After all, education involves various aspects, and it is more difficult to touch interests than to touch the soul.
CNN cited data from the Brookings Institution stating that previous presidents proposed budget cuts for the Department of Education, but in 71% of cases, Congress not only stood up to the president but also ended up increasing the budget.
So, it may be a bit difficult for Trump to fulfill his promise, and there may even be sharp opposition that turns his promise into empty words.
After all, many Americans insist that the abolition of the United States Department of Education will seriously undermine the fairness of American education.
Of course, Trump is Trump. Not to mention, in Argentina, Trump’s good friend and fan Millet canceled the Department of Education.
It’s not ruled out either. It cannot be ruled out that Reagan was unable to accomplish something, nor can it be ruled out that Trump failed to achieve his ambitious goals four years ago, and four years later he succeeded cleanly.
If that’s the case, how can 100 year old Carter bear it?