WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to begin shutting down the Department of Education, a long-held goal of conservative politicians who argue that individual states, rather than the federal government, should control schools.

Surrounded by schoolchildren sitting at desks set up in the East Room of the White House, Trump smiled as he held up the order after signing it.

Trump said the order would “begin eliminating the federal Department of Education once and for all.”

“We’re going to shut it down and shut it down as quickly as possible. It’s doing us no good,” Trump said. “We’re going to return education back to the states where it belongs.”

The Education Department, created in 1979, cannot be shuttered without the approval of Congress – but Trump’s order will likely have the power to starve it of funds and staff.

The move is one of the most drastic steps yet in the brutal overhaul of the government that Trump is carrying out with the help of tech tycoon Elon Musk and his Department for Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Democrats and educators have slammed the move.

The top Democrat in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, called it a “tyrannical power grab” and “one of the most destructive and devastating steps Donald Trump has ever taken.”

Republican leaders, including Governors Ron DeSantis of Florida and Greg Abbott of Texas, were in the audience for the signing ceremony.

Trump has cast the move as necessary to save money and improve educational standards in the United States, saying they are lagging behind those in Europe and China.

But education has been a battleground for decades in America’s culture wars, and Republicans have long wanted to remove control of it from the federal government.

‘Beautiful day’

The order directs Education Secretary Linda McMahon to “take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return education authority to the States,” according to a draft obtained by AFP.

Trump promised on the campaign trail to get rid of the department and devolve its powers to US states, in much the same way that has happened with abortion rights.

Trump’s appointment of McMahon, the former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, to lead the department was widely seen as a sign that its days were numbered.

But the White House said earlier that a rump education department was likely to stay on to deal with “critical functions,” including loans and some grants for low-income students.

“The Department of Education will be much smaller than it is today,” Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters before the signing.

The Heritage Foundation – a right-wing think-tank that has seen many of its “Project 2025” recommendations adopted by Trump – welcomed the move.

“It’s a beautiful day to dismantle the Department of Education,” it said on X.

Traditionally, the US government has had a limited role in education, with only about 13 per cent of funding for primary and secondary schools coming from federal coffers, the rest being funded by states and local communities.

But federal funding is invaluable for low-income schools and students with special needs. And the federal government has been essential in enforcing key civil rights protections for students.

Trump and his billionaire advisor Musk have already dismantled several other government agencies, effectively crippling them by slashing programmes and employees.

A similar move to dismantle the US Agency for International Development was halted on Monday by a federal judge, who said the push likely violated the US Constitution.