A bill to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education was reintroduced by Representative Thomas Massie on Monday. The Republican representative from Kentucky introduced the bill, which is called H.R. 899, on Friday. The law’s wording said that the Department of Education will be shut down by December 31, 2026.
The Department of Education has long been a target of Republican criticism. The foundation distributes billions of dollars a year to public schools in low-income neighborhoods and provides financial aid to millions of Americans who want to go to college. Republicans have traditionally hated the department’s power over education, regardless of its goal.
Massie’s Opinion on Controlling Education
Rep. Massie stated his opinion that the moral and intellectual growth of children should not be governed by unelected bureaucrats in Washington, D.C. “States as well as
This bill is not the first time Massie has sought to abolish the Department of Education. He originally proposed the same bill during the first Trump administration in 2017.
Opposition to the Department of Education
Republicans have voiced opposition to the Department of Education since it was created by former President Jimmy Carter in 1979. Ronald Reagan suggested dissolving the department in 1980 while running for president. In the 2024 election, President Donald Trump ran a campaign that was critical of the Department of Education.
Trump stressed that rather than funding a massive bureaucratic structure in Washington, D.C., federal education funds should follow the student. He stated, “We want to close the federal Department of Education.”
Similar Bills and Efforts to Abolish the Department of Education
In November, Senator Mike Rounds of South Dakota introduced the “Returning Education to Our States Act” in the Senate. The Department of Education was to be abolished as well, but this bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions and never moved forward.
Obstacles the Department of Education Faces
Particularly under the Trump administration, the Department of Education has encountered difficulties. Following Trump’s executive order in 2017, which prohibited diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in the federal government, scores of U.S. Department of Education staff were placed on paid administrative leave.