A bold vow to dismantle the US Department of Education was made early in a president’s second term, with plans to eliminate the agency swiftly. Officials later revealed that the effort stalled after months of internal debate, with key figures acknowledging the challenges of dismantling such a large federal bureaucracy. The shift highlighted tensions between political rhetoric and the practical hurdles of major administrative overhauls. Critics and supporters alike weighed in on whether the proposal could ever gain traction.


In the early days of President Donald Trump’s second term, he made a blunt promise about the US Department of Education: “We’re going to shut it down as quickly as possible.” In a matter of months, 40 ...