The Education Department gave another agency power to distribute its money. It hasn't gone well.

A controversial push to restructure the Education Department under the Trump administration has faced significant setbacks, raising questions about the viability of broader reforms. Early efforts to reorganize the agency’s oversight of student aid programs have encountered resistance, potentially weakening the administration’s broader agenda to reshape federal education policy. Critics argue the missteps could delay or derail key changes, while supporters maintain the experiment remains essential to streamlining government operations. The outcome could hinge on whether lawmakers and bureaucrats can reconcile competing visions for the department’s future.

The stumbles of an early Trump administration experiment to carve up the Education Department risks undercutting the president’s more dramatic demolition plan for the agency. The Labor Department ...