Argentinian President Javier Milei recently gave Elon Musk a chainsaw to represent the massive cuts being made by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Now, President Trump may be taking that same chainsaw to an entire federal bureaucracy.

Newly confirmed Education Secretary Linda McMahon has made it clear that President Trump intends to “send education back to the states.” On Monday, she released a mission statement, declaring, “My vision is aligned with the President’s: to send education back to the states and empower all parents to choose an excellent education for their children.” She added, “We must start thinking about our final mission at the department as an overhaul — a last chance to restore the culture of liberty and excellence that made American education great.”

In a post on X, McMahon added, “The Department of Education’s role in this new era of accountability is to restore the rightful role of state oversight in education and to end the overreach from Washington.”

Already, the department has made tremendous progress paring back what it considers unnecessary projects. Before McMahon was even confirmed by the Senate, the department issued a press release announcing that it had “terminated over $600 million in grants to institutions and nonprofits that were using taxpayer funds to train teachers and education agencies on divisive ideologies.” Officials went on to explain that some of the institutions receiving grants were promoting “inappropriate and unnecessary topics such as Critical Race Theory; Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI); social justice activism; 'anti-racism'; and instruction on white privilege and white supremacy.”

However, as Secretary McMahon alluded to, it appears spending cuts are just the beginning of a larger strategy to phase out the federal role in education. has According to  a leaked memo, President Trump intends to sign an executive order to eradicate the entire department. The internal document stated, “The department is preparing to notify its employees that President Donald Trump will sign an executive order, entitled, ‘Eliminating the Department of Education.’” Based on that memo, staff are actively preparing for the department to be dismantled via executive order.

It should come as no surprise that Trump intends to eliminate the Department of Education, since he openly campaigned toward that goal last year. For years, he’s been an open critic of the department, explaining repeatedly, “In total, American society pours more than $1 trillion a year into public education systems, but instead of being at the top of the list, we are literally right smack — guess what — at the bottom.”

In a campaign video, Trump explained his intentions for the federal agency: “One other thing I’ll be doing very early in the administration is closing up the Department of Education in Washington, D.C., and sending all education and education work and needs back to the states.” Since he appointed McMahon, he even joked that he chose her to “put herself out of a job.”

Multiple Republicans have expressed their support for the president’s plan, including Congressman Burgess Owens (R-Utah), who joined guest host Jody Hice on “Washington Watch” Tuesday to discuss Trump’s intentions for the department and Congress’s cooperation in that goal.

Hice asked Rep. Owens how his House Education Workforce Committee intends on “working with the president to get some of these things codified and across the finish line.” Owens first praised Trump for championing the elimination of the Department of Education, which he agreed “has not done its job.” He added, “We will have the legislative body that’s going to codify the things he’s putting into place.”

Owens believes that it will take congressional action to shutter the department entirely. “I think [it] will take legislation,” he told Hice. “That’s the way I’ve understood this, but we can start doing things like block granting, taking things and putting it off into the Department of Justice and those kinds of things. [There are] so many things we could do to break it down.” He added, “...[W]e’re going to be talking over the next few weeks and months about how well this department is really adhering to the promise that we gave to our kids to make sure every child has a choice to grow and build their dreams.”

Republicans in Congress aren’t the only ones seeking to eliminate the Department of Education. Meg Kilgannon, senior fellow for Education Studies at Family Research Council, told the Washington Stand, “President Trump and Secretary McMahon can eliminate the Department of Education with legislative support from Congress.” She called ending the department “very necessary.” She continued, “American children’s test scores are at an all-time low, with the only bright spots of progress coming from states who deliberately ignore guidance and suggestions coming out of Washington D.C.”

Kilgannon also provided additional solutions if Congress doesn’t align with Trump’s goals. She said, “If Congress does not pass the required legislation, it would be possible to relocate the student loan program to Treasury (until it is phased out), send the Office of Civil Rights to the Department of Justice, and move the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services to Health and Human Services. Vocational programs could go to the Commerce Department.” Kilgannon believes the department should, at the very least, be drastically reduced in size and power. She concluded, “Even without Congress, we can lessen the size of the department, and I believe such changes could benefit our educational system overall.”

Zachary Gohl serves as an intern at Family Reseach Council.