President Trump has reinforced his intent to bring education “back to the states.”
In a pre-inaugural speech made at a rally in Washington, D.C. on Sunday, Trump outlined various policies he hopes his second administration will achieve in the near future.
On the topic of education, Trump highlighted Education Secretary nominee Linda McMahon, whom he called “fantastic.”
”And a very special woman, Linda McMahon, is going to be our future Secretary of Education, which we’re going to be giving back to the states,” Trump remarked.
“Let the state run education.”
Trump also said how he told McMahon, “if you do a great job, you will put yourself out of a job. Because you’re going to be sending it back to the states.”
In his announcement of McMahon in November, Trump reiterated his desire to decentralize the American education system.
”Linda will use her decades of Leadership experience, and deep understanding of both Education and Business, to empower the next Generation of American Students and Workers, and make America Number One in Education in the World,” the then president-elect wrote at the time.
“We will send Education BACK TO THE STATES, and Linda will spearhead that effort.”
Trump also called McMahon, who served as the administrator of the Small Business Administration during his first term, a “fierce advocate for Parents’ Rights.”
”As Secretary of Education, Linda will fight tirelessly to expand ‘Choice’ to every State in America, and empower parents to make the best Education decisions for their families,” he added.
In the 2024 Republican platform, the party pledged to fight to ”ensure safe learning environments free from political meddling, and restore Parental Rights.” Included in the plan were efforts to advance “Universal School Choice,” combat Critical Race Theory and “Gender Indoctrination,” as well as “Return Education to the States.”
”We are going to close the Department of Education in Washington, D.C. and send it back to the States, where it belongs, and let the States run our educational system as it should be run,” the platform states.
”It is our goal to bring Education in the United States to the highest level, one that it has never attained before!”
Abolishing the Education Department has been a core tenet of Republican presidential campaigns dating back to Ronald Reagan in 1980, who said that education “is the principal responsibility of local school systems, teachers, parents, citizen boards and state governments.”
