Trump Will ‘Greatly Minimize’ Education Department With Executive Order—But Student Loans, Pell Grants Will Be Under Federal Control

President Donald Trump will sign an executive order Thursday that will make the Department of Education “much smaller than it is today,” but keep some “critical functions,” such as Title I and student loans, under federal control, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said, confirming previous reports Trump will implement the long-promised order later in the day.

The order is designed to give states’ control over education, Leavitt told reporters, though the federal government will still be responsible for administering Title I funding, Pell grants, student loans, special education funding and enforcement of civil rights laws, among other “critical functions.”