11.18.25

Senator Murray Statement on Trump’s Latest Steps to Keep Illegally Dismantling the Department of Education—Abandoning Students Nationwide

Washington, D.C. — Today, Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee and a senior member and former chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), issued the following statement on plans announced today to further dismantle the Department of Education—the only federal agency solely focused ensuring children can get a quality education—by transferring the administration of key Department functions administered by the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, the Office of Postsecondary Education, the Office of Indian Education, and various other programs to federal agencies with little to no expertise in education. Under the new agreements, the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Interior, and State will now be responsible for administering core functions of critical education programs.

 

“Donald Trump and Linda McMahon are lawlessly trying to fulfill Project 2025’s goal to abolish the Department of Education and pull the rug out from students in every part of the country.

 

“But instead of seeking congressional approval of their reckless actions to weaken our education system—which McMahon has acknowledged is necessary—Trump and McMahon are now pretending that our laws and the constitutional separation of powers are a mere suggestion.

 

“This is an outright illegal effort to continue dismantling the Department of Education, and it is students and families who will suffer the consequences as key programs that help students learn to read or that strengthen ties between schools and families are spun off to agencies with little to no relevant expertise and are gravely weakened—or even completely broken—in the process.

 

“I have spent my career working to improve educational outcomes for students. I am always ready and willing to talk about reforms to our education laws to improve educational outcomes for students—but this isn’t a plan to improve outcomes; it’s a plan to abandon students and families, rip away resources and support, and leave kids who are simply looking to get a good education to fend for themselves. The fact that Trump and McMahon are choosing to break the law to do this on their own—despite having unified Republican control of Washington—tells us they know just how unpopular their plans are and can’t win the approval of members of their own party.

 

“Republicans should join Democrats in insisting that the laws we have worked together to pass are followed—and to stand up for students and families nationwide in the face of this administration’s nonstop attacks on our public education system.”

 

A former preschool teacher and local school board member herself, Senator Murray has been a longtime champion for education and believes that every student deserves a high-quality public education and access to an affordable higher education. Senator Murray has been leading the fight in Congress to push back against President Trump's reckless efforts to abolish the Department of Education and hurt students and families nationwide. Over the last few months, Senator Murray has:

 

 

  • Forcefully warned of President Trump’s plans to illegally abolish the Department of Education—and raised alarm bells about the steps he’s taken to do just that, including by hosting a forum on Trump’s decimation of the Department and demanding a halt to the administration’s illegal plans to transfer key Department of Education responsibilities to other departments.

 

  • Slamming President Trump and Secretary McMahon’s mass firings that have hollowed out the Department and weakened support for students, teachers, and families across the country—including at the Office for Civil Rights—and holding Secretary McMahon’s feet to the fire over the firings.

 

  • Demanding the reversal of a policy that prevents funding from reaching schools nationwide.

 

  • Blasting President Trump’s budget request to slash education funding.

 

  • Holding key Department of Education nominees to account.

 

  • Leading the charge to push the Trump administration to release billions of dollars in funding for K-12 schools and adult education programs that it had been blocking for weeks.

 

  • Calling out the Department of Education’s abrupt,?unilateral?decision?to?slash or eliminate?key funding for teacher training, magnet schools, minority-serving institutions of higher education, and international education programs to instead fund its own priorities.

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