One of President Donald Trump’s biggest targets in his second term has been the Education Department, a federal agency established in 1979 that oversees the enforcement of federal law in schools. He’s called the department “a big con job,” and expressed his hope that Linda McMahon, confirmed on Monday to head the agency, will “put herself out of a job.”

In an email to the department just after her confirmation, McMahon called on staffers to “join us in this historic final mission,” which she described as “a last chance to restore the culture of liberty and excellence that made American education great.”

Trump is also reportedly planning an executive order to abolish the department, though he cannot legally close it without cooperation from Congress. (During her confirmation hearing, McMahon agreed that congressional action would be necessary, and said some programs would continue.) Meanwhile, the agency’s Office for Civil Rights has switched its focus from protecting students against racial and disability discrimination to investigating cases of transgender athletes competing in women’s sports. Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has already slashed research programs, and the administration has laid off dozens of employees — actions that education advocates say amount to eliminating the department in all but name.

“They’re really gutting it from within,” said Blair Wriston, senior manager for government affairs at EdTrust, an education equity nonprofit. “The people who suffer are going to be the kids.”

It’s not just children. In addition to bolstering underfunded K-12 schools and protecting the rights of kids with disabilities, the department also manages the federal financial aid process for college students. “I am not certain whether or not students will be able to get financial aid next year,” Dominique Baker, a professor of education and public policy at the University of Delaware, told Vox.

The Education Department’s critics misrepresent it as a tool for the federal government to exert control over schools. It’s actually an agency tasked with supporting the nation’s........

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