- cross-posted to:
- trump_watch@lemm.ee
- cross-posted to:
- trump_watch@lemm.ee
Summary
Trump has been forced to scale back his plan to shut down the Department of Education completely.
While signing an executive order to begin dismantling the agency, Trump conceded that it will continue operating key functions including student loans, Pell grants, and certain civil rights enforcement.
The White House Press Secretary clarified that the “department will be much smaller” while returning “the great responsibility of education…to the states.”
Democrats and rights activists have condemned the move, with Senator Tina Smith vowing to “fight your illegal behavior.”
Because he conceded that it’s not within his power to dismantle a government department that was made via a law. In other words, he blinked on infringing on that core Article I power. That said, I don’t think it’s a huge win, and he will try again. But at least we are finding the frontiers of Republicans’ stomach for authoritarian behavior. It’s not great, but it’s something.
It’s a flinch. Seemingly he has the ability to whittle it down to one employee and claim, “It’s technically still open.”
Yea! He can’t dismantle it! Sure, he can fire all the employees, cut programs, direct department leaders to abandon all initiatives, and discriminate on who gets funding to the point where it becomes a useless, hollowed-out shell; but he can’t dismantle it! That means the department of education is “saved”!
That’ll show him to flex his authority with no consequences!
More “survived a punch” than “won a fight”