Trump preparing executive order telling education secretary to dissolve Department of Education

President Donald Trump is expected to take the extraordinary step this week of directing his secretary of education to dissolve the U.S. Department of Education by executive order, according to sources familiar with a draft.

A draft of the executive order calls on Education Secretary Linda McMahon to facilitate a department closure by taking all necessary steps "permitted by law," the sources said.

However, such a move would require congressional approval; any proposed legislation would likely fail without 60 Senate votes.

McMahon has previously acknowledged she would need Congress to carry out the president's vision to close the department she's been tapped to lead.

"We'd like to do this right," she said during her confirmation hearing last month, adding: "That certainly does require congressional action."