President Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders designed to redefine the role of the federal government in education policy.

President Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders designed to redefine the role of the federal government in education policy. Among the most consequential was a directive initiating the phased closure of the U.S. Department of Education, marking a pivotal shift toward state sovereignty in educational governance. Citing the nation's high per-student expenditures alongside its comparatively poor international performance, Trump remarked, "We spend more per pupil than any other country in the world, yet we rank among the lowest. What I want to do is return control to the states." He entrusted his nominee for Education Secretary, Linda McMahon, with overseeing the department's dissolution, pointedly asserting that her ultimate mandate was to "put herself out of a job." This decision underscores the administration's broader ideological commitment to decentralization, reinforcing the principle that education policy should be crafted at the state and local levels rather than dictated by federal bureaucracy.