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 hurdles, raising questions about the viability of broader reforms. Early efforts to reshape the agency’s oversight of federal education programs have encountered resistance, potentially weakening the administration’s ambitions to overhaul the department’s structure. Critics argue the setbacks could limit the scope of future changes, while supporters maintain the experiment remains a key part of the administration’s education agenda. The outcome may hinge on whether policymakers can navigate the political and bureaucratic challenges ahead.

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 ...