Washington, D.C. – U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday to begin the process of eliminating the United States Department of Education, marking a dramatic move in his broader plan to reform the nation’s education system.

During a public speech following the signing, Trump sharply criticized the department’s effectiveness, claiming that despite the U.S. spending more on education than any other country in the world, it ranks “near the bottom” in terms of student success and academic outcomes.

“Everyone knows it's right,” Trump stated, defending the decision. “We're not doing well with the world of education.” He insisted that the federal department is providing “no good” to the American people and asserted that its removal would be carried out “as quickly as possible.”

The executive order sets in motion a process that would transfer education oversight from the federal level back to the states and local communities. This decentralization effort is aimed at increasing accountability, parental involvement, and performance-based results tailored to local needs.

Critics of the Department of Education have long argued that it imposes one-size-fits-all mandates, stifles innovation, and creates bureaucratic inefficiencies. Trump’s move seeks to eliminate these hurdles by empowering local school districts to take more control over curriculum, standards, and resource allocation.

The decision has sparked widespread debate, with supporters applauding the emphasis on local control and detractors warning about the risks of reduced national standards and protections.

As the executive order unfolds, the future of federal education policy in the United States faces one of its most significant shifts in decades—driven by a call to radically transform how and where American children learn.