Thursday, November 20, 2025
White House: Trump administration takes first concrete steps to dismantle Department of Education
WASHINGTON – In a packed James S. Brady Press Briefing Room on Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and Education Secretary Linda McMahon laid out the Trump administration’s opening move to make good on a signature campaign promise: effectively shuttering the federal Department of Education.
Leavitt kicked off the briefing with a burst of economic good news ahead of Thanksgiving:
- September added 119,000 jobs (more than double forecasts)
- Gas prices on track for the lowest Thanksgiving average since 2021
- A 16-pound frozen turkey is down more than 16 % from last year
She then turned to education, declaring the administration had signed new inter-agency agreements shifting programs to the departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Interior, and State.
“The 43-day Democratic government shutdown proved America doesn’t need a federal Department of Education,” Leavitt said, referring to the record-long funding lapse earlier this year. “Ninety percent of the staff was furloughed and not a single classroom was affected.”
McMahon: “We are ending federal micromanagement”
Secretary McMahon, the former WWE executive tapped to lead the department she is now helping dismantle, told reporters the moves are “the most decisive steps thus far” toward returning education control to states and local districts.
Key points from her remarks:
- Only 3 in 10 U.S. students read at grade level
- 2024 national test scores were the worst for 13-year-olds in decades
- The department is a “pass-through entity” that “doesn’t teach a single child”
- A 50-state listening tour shows states are already innovating with school choice and the “science of reading”
When pollsters explain that core funding will still flow to states, public support flips from 51 % opposed to 56 % in favor, McMahon said.
Fiery Q&A moments
- Harvard: Negotiations over federal funding and DEI policies are “getting close to finalized,” McMahon said.
- AI in classrooms: McMahon praised a Texas school where students spend the first two hours with AI tutors, calling it “incredible.”
- Medical schools defying new DEI rules: “Measures will continue,” she warned.
- Ukraine: Leavitt said Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy Keith Whitkopf have spent a month quietly drafting a peace plan both sides can live with.
- NYC mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani: Leavitt called Thursday’s Oval Office meeting “telling” that Democrats elected a “communist” to run America’s largest city, but stressed Trump “will meet with anyone” for the good of the country.
- Democratic lawmakers’ video urging troops to disobey orders: Leavitt forcefully defended Trump’s rhetoric, saying the message could “incite chaos” and is “perhaps punishable by law.”
The briefing wrapped up abruptly so staff could attend President Trump’s meeting with recently freed Israeli hostages.
The Department of Education, created in 1979 under President Jimmy Carter, now faces its most serious existential threat in its 46-year history. Congressional action will be required to make the transfers permanent — a battle that is expected to dominate the early months of the new Congress.
Video: White House WH.org , Brightonbeachnews.com
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