WASHINGTON — Should Linda McMahon be confirmed as the Secretary of Education, President Donald Trump has expressed a desire for her to aim towards making herself redundant in the role.

The White House is contemplating a strategy that would empower the Secretary of Education to minimize the influence of the department as much as the law permits, while simultaneously urging Congress to consider its complete dissolution. During her confirmation hearing, McMahon mentioned her commitment to working towards a “better functioning Department of Education,” which could involve transferring certain responsibilities to other federal agencies for improved efficiency. However, McMahon acknowledged that fully eliminating the department would be a significant challenge, requiring Congressional involvement. To date, the department has already slashed $900 million from contracts intended for monitoring student progress across the nation’s schools.

The Education Department primarily handles financial matters, overseeing the distribution of federal funds amounting to billions for schools and colleges each year, as well as managing the federal student loan portfolio. The dissolution of the department would necessitate reallocating these duties to various other agencies. Additionally, it plays a critical regulatory role concerning services for students, including those with disabilities and those experiencing homelessness or financial hardship.

Federal funding is pivotal to Trump’s ambitions for educational institutions. He has pledged to withhold federal funds from schools and colleges promoting “critical race theory, transgender ideologies, and any inappropriate racial, sexual, or political content” and to incentivize states and schools that eliminate teacher tenure while endorsing broader school choice initiatives.

Although federal funding constitutes about 14% of public school budgets, colleges and universities tend to rely more heavily on it, benefiting from research grants and federal financial aid that enables students to afford tuition.

A detailed examination reveals key functionalities of the Education Department and Trump’s proposed approaches.

**Student Loans and Financial Aid**

Currently, the Education Department is responsible for approximately $1.5 trillion in student loan debt affecting over 40 million borrowers. Furthermore, it oversees the Pell Grant program, which offers financial aid to low-income students, and administers the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which universities utilize to distribute financial assistance.

President Biden’s administration championed the cancellation of student debt as a primary focus, successfully forgiving over $175 billion for around 4.8 million borrowers through adjustments in various programs, including Public Service Loan Forgiveness, despite an initial cancellation effort being revoked by the Supreme Court. This initiative met with significant resistance from Republicans, including lawsuits from multiple GOP-led states.

Trump has denounced Biden’s debt cancellation measures, labeling them as unlawful and unjust, referring to them as a “total catastrophe” that misled young people. However, he has yet to reveal comprehensive plans concerning how he would manage student debt.

**Civil Rights Enforcement**

The Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights is responsible for overseeing investigations and issuing guidance on the application of civil rights laws, particularly concerning LGBTQ+ students and students of color. It also manages a significant data collection initiative that monitors disparities in resources, course access, and discipline among various racial and socio-economic groups.

Trump has indicated a shift in the interpretation of the office’s responsibilities. During his tenure, the department prioritized addressing antisemitism complaints and has begun investigating colleges and sports leagues regarding the inclusion of transgender athletes in women’s teams.

In his campaign, Trump committed to pursuing civil rights cases that would address discrimination based on race in educational institutions. He criticized diversity and equity initiatives as “explicit unlawful discrimination,” suggesting that colleges employing such measures could face fines and taxation on their endowments.

Moreover, Trump promised to remove Title IX protections for transgender students that relate to policies governing pronouns, restroom access, and locker room use. Originally established in 1972 to advance women’s rights, Title IX’s interpretation underwent changes under the Biden administration, asserting protections against discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation, although a federal judge recently countered these protections.

**College Accreditation**

While the Education Department does not directly accredit postsecondary institutions, it supervises the accreditation system by evaluating federally recognized accrediting bodies. Accreditation is essential for higher education institutions to access federal funding for student aid.

The accreditation process faced criticism from conservatives in 2022, notably when the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools raised concerns about political meddling at public colleges in Florida. Trump has vowed to dismiss what he terms “radical left accreditors” and to consider applications from new accreditors that adhere to standards such as the “defense of the American tradition” and the elimination of “Marxist” diversity policies.

Although the education secretary has the authority to sever ties with certain accreditors, doing so is a complex process rarely undertaken. Previous attempts during the Obama administration to revoke accreditation from a now-defunct for-profit college chain were blocked by Trump, while the Biden administration successfully terminated the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools in 2022.

**Funding for Schools**

Much of the funding allocated by the Education Department to K-12 institutions is derived from substantial federal programs, like Title I, aimed at low-income schools, as well as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. These programs are designed to assist students with disabilities, lower class sizes through additional teaching budgets, and fund non-teaching roles such as social workers.

During his campaign, Trump proposed shifting these responsibilities to state governments without specifying how the vital functions of distributing federal funds to local schools and districts would be managed. A proposal by the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 suggests transitioning oversight of programs for disadvantaged children first to the Department of Health and Human Services, eventually leading to an elimination of funding in favor of unrestricted grants to states.