Reaction & Commentary
Congressional allies of President Donald Trump have rallied around his and Elon Musk’s efforts to roll back the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Now, they’re urging the administration to set its sights on another core agency.
“I think the conversation about the Department of Education getting drastically cut is the right conversation,” Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., told Fox News Digital. “I trust the Tennessee General Assembly to craft curriculums for Tennessee students more than I do the California or the D.C. legislative bodies. And I think we all face that back home.”
Republican lawmakers who spoke with Fox News Digital this week named several federal offices that they wanted to see audited or scaled back by Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., rattled off a list of suggestions when speaking to Fox News Digital, “OSHA, EPA, Department of Education, ATF.”
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Reps. Brandon Gill, left, and Andy Ogles, right, are among those who want to see Elon Musk and President Trump audit or roll back the Department of Education. (Getty)
But most coalesced around the Department of Education as a worthy next target, amid rumors that Trump could soon sign an executive order dismantling the Cabinet agency.
“In order to get buy in, you could eliminate the Department of Education, but you would take at least a portion of the money and give it back to the states in the form of block grants or something like that,” Biggs suggested.
Freshman Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, said, “I think we need to get rid of the Department of Education. We need to get rid of the ATF. I’ve co-sponsored bills to do that for both of those.”
He said the Department of Education was a “good place to start,” accusing it of sinking millions of taxpayer dollars into diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts and other progressive causes.
President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order eliminating the Department of Education. (Evan Vucci/AP)
“I mean, the American people are sick of funding left-wing activism with their taxpayer dollars,” Gill said.
Conservatives have long been critical of the Cabinet department, which first opened its doors in 1980 after President Jimmy Carter split it off from what is now the Department of Health and Human Services.
“Education Department should’ve been gone or reined in a long time ago,” said Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C.
He said he hoped Musk would “put a dollar tag on it, trace the money, where it’s going.”
A bill introduced by Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., this week to eliminate the Department of Education already has 30 House GOP co-signers.
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Rep. Thomas Massie reintroduced his bill this week to eliminate the Department of Education. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Meanwhile, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., suggested on Wednesday there was an appetite for Congress to back up Trump if he follows through with an executive order on the department.
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“The teachers unions will viciously fight, of course, any idea of disbanding the federal Department of Education. But I think the principle is one whose time has come. We’ve all seen the ratings. I mean, the U.S. is falling far behind other countries because the system is not working,” Johnson said in response to a question by Fox News Digital.
The speaker stressed that further details were necessary, but added, “You’re going to see a lot of support among House and I think Senate Republicans, for the general idea of pushing the decisions down, back down to the local level. I think that’s something that would serve us all well.”
