Trump 2.0 - Dismantling the country

Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday calling for the dismantling of the Education Department, an agency Republicans have talked about closing for decades.

The order says Education Secretary Linda McMahon will, “to the maximum extent appropriate and permitted by law, take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return authority over education to the States and local communities.”

Eliminating the department altogether would be a cumbersome task, which likely would require an act of Congress.

  Chicago Tribune

"Likely" is doing a lot of work there. They can dismantle, and good luck to you trying to remantle.

In the weeks since he took office, the Trump administration already has cut the department’s staff in half and overhauled much of the department’s work. Trump adviser Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has cut dozens of contracts it dismissed as “woke” and wasteful. It gutted the Institute of Education Sciences, which gathers data on the nation’s academic progress.

The agency’s main role is financial. Annually, it distributes billions in federal money to colleges and schools and manages the federal student loan portfolio. Closing the department would mean redistributing each of those duties to another agency. The Education Department also plays an important regulatory role in services for students, ranging from those with disabilities to low-income and homeless kids.

There is no room in Trump's Amerika for anyone with disabilities, low income, or homeless.

Trump has vowed to cut off federal money for schools and colleges that push “critical race theory, transgender insanity, and other inappropriate racial, sexual or political content” and to reward states and schools that end teacher tenure and support universal school choice programs.

Federal funding makes up a relatively small portion of public school budgets — roughly 14%. Colleges and universities are more reliant on it, through research grants along with federal financial aid that helps students pay their tuition.

Here is a look at some of the department’s key functions, and how Trump has said he might approach them.

Continue reading.

Earlier this month, the administration pulled back a staggering $400 million in grants already awarded to the school over Columbia’s alleged failure to address antisemitism on campus. Now, Columbia can only have those funds if they agree to let the administration dictate how the school handles everything from student discipline to curriculum to admissions. It’s an unheard-of attack on the autonomy and free speech of a private university.

[...]

As Columbia was the site of some of the biggest anti-war protests, it came in for special scrutiny from the GOP-controlled House of Representatives. Last year, House Republicans dragged the university’s then-president, Minouche Shafik, before Congress to quiz her about Columbia’s response to the protests. Shafik bent the knee, agreeing with the GOP that the university violated Title VI, which protects students based on race, color, and national origin, by creating a hostile environment for Jewish students. She also cracked down on protests, calling in the cops to crush dissent. But none of this was enough, and conservatives celebrated when Shafik was forced out a few months later.

[...]

Notably, neither Trump nor any of the GOP howler monkeys who insist the school remains a hotbed for antisemitism have provided any evidence of ongoing issues at Columbia. Instead, they continue to reference last year’s protests, a thing that the school arguably addressed by letting NYPD riot cops violently subdue protesters.

Which brings us to last week’s letter, which dangled restoration of the $400 million, but only if Columbia agrees to, basically, let the administration run the school.

  Public Notice

Run it into the ground.

It will be about trying to rebuild what he tears down.  Even where possible, it's not going to be easy, or quick.

Also...cancer treatments summarily cancelled.

Social Security?  Yep, that, too.

UPDATE 03/24/2025:

MAGA!