Last week Americans got their first look at what a revamped Department of Education might look like under Linda McMahon, the Trump administration’s nominee to lead the DOE as it moves toward winding down the Federal government’s role in education policy and programs. 

While testifying before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, McMahon expressed the understanding that “dismantling” the agency entirely would take an act of Congress. Instead, she painted a picture of a significantly pared-back agency that would keep a handful of key programs (Title 1 for low-income schools, Pell Grants, and Public Service Loan Forgiveness) but move others into different departments. Specifically, McMahon questioned whether the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act “may very well rest better” in the Department of Health and Human Services, and whether the Office for Civil Rights might be a better fit for the Justice Department. 

It remains to be seen how major DOE changes will align with some of the administration’s other goals. According to an AP article, even as Trump talks about eliminating the DOE, he has “created new work for the department, including plans to promote ‘patriotic’ education and efforts to go after schools that teach controversial lessons on race and gender.” 

Getting the support of Congress for large-scale change is not a given because the programs that the DOE says it will keep are supported by both sides of the aisle. While policy matters change frequently, students of history in favor of maintaining a robust DOE need only look to 2023 when 60 Republicans joined Democrats in preventing passage of a House bill that called for the closure of the DOE.