U.S. Education Department to be dismantled: Here’s
what the agency does,
and why it drew Trump’s ire

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday calling for a plan to shut down 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.”

Education Department manages approximately $1.5 trillion in student loan debt for over 40 million borrowers. It also oversees the Pell Grant, which provides aid to students below a certain income threshold, and administers the Free Application for Federal Student Aid ( FAFSA ), which universities use to allocate financial aid