McMahon has already begun reducing the workforce from 4,133 people to 2,183. Although only Congress has the legal authority to abolish the agency, Trump will likely use every tool that he has to render the department powerless until congressional Republicans have the votes to finish the job.

The U.S. Education Department is under fire. President Donald Trump has made the federal agency a central target in his intensifying war on education. Through a recent executive order, the president has instructed Secretary Linda McMahon to map out a detailed plan to dismantle the agency that she is responsible for. The order instructs her to “the maximum extent appropriate and permitted by law, take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return authority over education to the States and local communities.”

The U.S. Education Department is under fire. President Donald Trump has made the federal agency a central target in his intensifying war on education. Through a recent executive order, the president has instructed Secretary Linda McMahon to map out a detailed plan to dismantle the agency that she is responsible for. The order instructs her to “the maximum extent appropriate and permitted by law, take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return authority over education to the States and local communities.”

McMahon has already begun reducing the workforce from 4,133 people to 2,183. Although only Congress has the legal authority to abolish the agency, Trump will likely use every tool that he has to render the department powerless until congressional Republicans have the votes to finish the job.

Established in 1979, the Education Department is certainly not the most powerful federal agency in the country. Compared to the Defense Department or Homeland Security, it remains a relatively minor player at the table. Yet the Education Department provides many essential services for students, teachers, and their surrounding communities.

The department manages more than $1.6 trillion in federal student loans.