Trump Signs Order to Restructure the US Education Department

US President Donald Trump issued an order on Thursday to "eliminate" the Department of Education. This is a long-standing goal of the American Right, who want individual states running schools without federal involvement.

Trump, surrounded by schoolchildren seated at desks in the East Room at the White House and smiling as he held the order up after signing it during a special ceremony, smiled.

Trump stated that the order "would begin eliminating the Trump Shuts US Education department one and for all."

We'll shut it down, and we'll shut it down as soon as possible. It's doing us no good," Trump said. "We are going to bring education back to where it belongs, the states."

The US Education Department was created in 1979 and cannot be closed without approval from Congress. However, Trump's executive order could starve the department of funding and staff.

This move is a fulfillment of one of Trump's election promises, and it is also among the most dramatic steps in the massive overhaul of government that Trump has been implementing with the assistance of tech mogul Elon Musk.

The order instructs Education Secretary Linda McMahon "to take all necessary steps in order to facilitate the closing of the Department of Education, and to return education authority to States".

Democrats and educators have condemned the move.

Chuck Schumer, the top Democrat senator, described it as a "tyrannical attempt to grab power" and "one the most destructive steps Donald Trump ever took."

Trump has argued that the move is necessary to improve education standards and save money in the United States. He claims they lag behind Europe and China.