President Trump plans to sign an executive order to shut down the Department of Education, fulfilling a campaign promise. Democratic attorneys general have filed a lawsuit to block the order, and the NAACP has condemned it as unconstitutional. Despite Republican control of the Senate, significant Democratic support would be needed to pass legislation to dismantle the department.

President Donald Trump of the United States is set to sign a long-awaited executive order on Thursday that seeks to dismantle the Department of Education, following through on a significant campaign promise. The proposed shutdown of the department has sparked immediate legal opposition, with a coalition of Democratic state attorneys general filing a lawsuit to block the order before it is signed. These legal representatives aim to prevent Trump from disbanding the department and stopping the recently announced layoffs of nearly half of its staff.

In addition to the legal challenges, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), a leading civil rights organization, has strongly criticized the anticipated order, describing it as unconstitutional. The organization's president, Derrick Johnson, expressed concern for the millions of American children who rely on federal funding for a quality education, particularly those in low-income and rural communities, including some whose parents supported Trump's presidency.

Trump, along with his billionaire adviser Elon Musk, has previously attempted to dissolve various government agencies and programs, such as the U.S. Agency for International Development, without congressional approval. However, eliminating the Department of Education would mark the first effort to abolish a cabinet-level agency during Trump's administration.

According to legal experts, Trump cannot unilaterally shut down the department without legislative backing from Congress, making the move legally complex. Although Republicans currently hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate, passing legislation to eliminate a cabinet-level agency would require a 60-vote supermajority, necessitating support from at least seven Democratic senators. Thus far, Senate Democrats have shown no inclination to back the department's dissolution.

Senator Patty Murray, a prominent Democrat, strongly condemned the administration's move, labeling it a "slash and burn campaign" by Trump and Musk. In her statement, she criticized their approach, asserting that they were "taking a wrecking ball to the Department of Education and firing half its staff."

The executive order mandates Education Secretary Linda McMahon to take all necessary measures to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education while transferring education authority back to the states. Despite this transition, the order emphasizes maintaining the effective and uninterrupted delivery of essential services, programs, and benefits relied upon by Americans.

A summary released by the White House further specifies that any programs or activities still funded by the Department of Education should not promote Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) or gender ideology. Trump's stance on the department has been consistently critical, calling it a "big con job." While he proposed its closure during his first term, Congress did not act on the suggestion.

In a statement last month, Trump expressed his desire for the immediate closure of the department, while acknowledging that cooperation from Congress and teachers' unions would be necessary to achieve this goal.