Sky News cut to the White House in Washington D.C. as he began the process
Sky News was brought to a standstill as they switched to the White House for breaking news. US President Donald Trump had begun the process of shutting down the US Department Of Education.
In a room filled with spectators and media, he signed an executive order to close the US Department of Education. As he picked up the pen, he remarked: “It is very lucky. I signed another document that turned out very good for the country and I said, ‘let’s use that same pen. I don’t know if anybody’s superstition, let’s use that same pen’.”
The order, which Trump pledged during his campaign, aims to “expand educational opportunities” and “empower parents, states, and communities to take control and improve outcomes for all students”, according to a White House spokesperson. The education department, established in 1979, manages funding for public schools, administers student loans, and runs programmes assisting low-income students.
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However, Trump has accused it of indoctrinating young people with racial, sexual, and political material.
Despite Donald Trump signing the the executive order that instructs the US education secretary, Linda McMahon, to start dismantling the Department of Education, he will still need to obtain congressional approval to formally close a federal department.