Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, has made it clear that any Republican attempt to pass legislation aimed at dismantling the Department of Education would be met with staunch opposition.
Schumer emphasized that such a measure would be "dead on arrival" in the Senate.
President Donald Trump recently issued an executive order directing the Secretary of Education to explore the closure of the Department of Education. The order calls for the Secretary to "take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return authority over education to the States and local communities while ensuring the effective and uninterrupted delivery of services, programs, and benefits on which Americans rely," as reported by Fox News. In his remarks last week, Trump assured that "the department's useful functions will be preserved, fully preserved."
Schumer, addressing the Senate floor on Monday, underscored the legal constraints on the President's executive order, stating, "of course Donald Trump cannot proceed without an act of Congress. That's the law." He further warned, "Let me be very clear: If Republicans ever, ever, try to move a bill through the Senate that shuts down the Department of Education, Senate Democrats will halt it in its tracks. It will go nowhere. It will be dead on arrival."
The Department of Education, established by Congress in 1979 through the Department of Education Organization Act, began its operations in May 1980. Schumer's tenure in the U.S. legislature nearly parallels the department's existence, having served in the House of Representatives starting in 1981 before transitioning to the Senate in 1999. This historical context underscores the enduring debate over federal versus state control in education, a topic that remains contentious in American politics.
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