Trump blasts Department of Education as ‘con job,’ says he wants it closed 'immediately' | Fox News "Oh, I’d like it to be closed immediately. Look at the Department of Education. It’s a big con job," he answered. "They ranked the top countries in the world. We’re ranked No. 40, but we’re ranked No. 1 in one department: cost per pupil. So, we spend more per pupil than any other country in the world, but we’re ranked No. 40." McMahon named Education Secretary amid future concerns Linda McMahon will be the next secretary of the Department of Education after passing a full Senate vote for her confirmation on Monday. McMahon — a former World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) executive who served as head of the Small Business Administration in Trump’s first term — did draw Democratic opposition over her general lack of education experience 'We're not prepared': States brace for Trump's plans to dismantle the Education Department NBC News reported this month that the White House is preparing an executive order to eliminate the agency, though the details of how that would work remain unclear. Trump cannot unilaterally get rid of a federal agency without congressional approval, and his nominee for education secretary, Linda McMahon, agreed at her recent Senate confirmation hearing that they hope to present a plan that Congress will support. Conservatives have for decades circulated an array of ideas on how to abolish or diminish the Cabinet-level agency — plans that include transferring key responsibilities within the department to other federal offices, as well as moving funds and oversight to the states. Yet, in the absence of specifics, the White House’s broader plan has been met with confusion and big questions from state lawmakers and education officials from both parties who would be tasked with filling in the gaps most likely to arise if and when the department is ended or curtailed. While some state lawmakers are quietly attempting to develop modest contingency plans, most say they have no choice but to wait for the details to emerge and then scramble to make sure their states can absorb whatever additional responsibilities come their way. “There’s no solid [federal] plan, so we don’t even know what to plan for,” said Connecticut state Rep. Maryam Khan, a Democrat and a former teacher and local board of education member. “If there’s just an implementation of something, all of a sudden, there’s no way any state can plan that quickly. There would be huge burdens on states to try to figure out something within a very small time frame.”
To solve the problem, you must first understand it. This is a golden rule. The problem: public schools have not been teaching kids reading, writing, and math. https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-launches-end-dei-portal “For years, parents have been begging schools to focus on teaching their kids practical skills like reading, writing, and math, instead of pushing critical theory, rogue sex education and divisive ideologies—but their concerns have been brushed off, mocked, or shut down entirely,” said Tiffany Justice, Co-Founder of Moms for Liberty. “Parents, now is the time that you share the receipts of the betrayal that has happened in our public schools. This webpage demonstrates that President Trump’s Department of Education is putting power back in the hands of parents.”
To solve the problem, you must first understand it. This is a golden rule. The problem: We’re ranked No. 40, but we’re ranked No. 1 in one department: cost per pupil. https://www.factcheck.org/2025/02/trump-wrong-about-u-s-rank-in-education-spending-and-outcomes/ the U.S. scored above average among OECD countries in reading and science (subjects in which the U.S. ranked 6th and 12th, respectively). The average U.S. score in math was lower, but not significantly, than the OECD average. The U.S. ranking in math was 28th. total spending per pupil: at the primary level — elementary school — the U.S. ranked 6th behind Luxembourg ($25,584), Norway ($18,037), Iceland ($16,786), Denmark ($15,598) and Austria ($15,415). According to the OECD, 93% of total expenditure on primary institutions comes from public sources in the U.S. Looking at secondary education — high school — the U.S. ranked 8th behind Norway ($19,831), Austria ($19,049), South Korea ($19,299), the Netherlands ($17,909), Belgium ($17,525), Germany ($17,077) and Australia ($16,498).
