Conservatives celebrated the start of the dismantling of the Department of Education: 'An incredible moment in history'

Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday to begin dismantling the Department of Education. To that end, the president held an event at the White House where he surrounded himself with children and teachers, reaffirming his desire to fulfill a longstanding Republican promise. Governors, senators, congressmen and even opinion leaders, were quick to applaud this initiative.

"We're going to bring education very simply back to the states, which is where it belongs. It's common sense and it's going to work," said the president at the event, which was also attended by the current secretary of education, Linda McMahon, whom he congratulated especially because "she could be the last Secretary of Education."

Seconds after signing the executive order, conservative leaders began to express themselves on social media to congratulate the White House.

"Education is best managed by parents and teachers"

One of the first to congratulate Trump was Mike Johnson. "Education is best administered by parents and teachers and those closest to students, not bureaucrats in Washington, DC. President Trump is keeping his promise and returning education to the states," the house speaker said on his X account.

In the same vein, Congressman Byron Donalds, who is also a candidate for governor of Florida, expressed himself. "Thank you President Trump for signing this historic EO.It's time to return education to the states & in Florida, we will ensure our kids are not just at grade-level, but that they're PROFICIENT," he said.

For Rep. Mike Collins of Georgia, one of the primary supporters of the Laken Raley Act, "the federal government’s involvement in schools has been a failure and never should have started."

"Taxpayer funding for public schools is at an all-time high, but test scores are at an all-time low. The radical Biden-Harris regime weaponized the Department of Education against their opponents. President Trump is rightfully returning power to the States and parents," Arizona's congressman Andy Biggs noted.

"The federal government doesn’t belong in the classroom, plain and simple"

In the Senate, the sense of victory was similar. For Marsha Blackburn, who recently spoke with VOZ, Trump's initiative will "untangle from Washington bureaucracy." Senator Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, who spent many years as a teacher, posted the following on his X account: "The federal government doesn’t belong in the classroom, plain and simple. Promises made, promises kept."

John Barrasso, the No. 2 Republican in the Senate leadership, also celebrated the move. "President Trump is improving America’s education system. The true strength of our education system lies with the states and our local communities. Today’s executive order sidelines the Washington bureaucracy and puts Wyoming parents in the driver’s seat when it comes to their child’s education," he wrote. 

"Federal education policy should empower parents, states, and local school districts, not federal bureaucrats. That’s what is happening in this administration. POTUS is refocusing the Education Department on its core missions and pushing power back to the state and local level," Sen. Pete Ricketts of Nebraska added.

Chris Rufo, a political commentator and pro-school choice activist, also celebrated the president's announcement. "This is the culmination of a long campaign. Republicans have promised to abolish the Department of Education for almost fifty years, but only President Trump is getting it done. An incredible moment in history," he wrote on X.

"The president is doing what other Republicans have promised, but failed, to do"

Governors, who from now on expect to gain much more say in their students' education, joined in congratulating the president.

Ron DeSantis, who attended the White House ceremony, did so through an op-ed published in The Wall Street Journal.

"Mr. Trump can empower states to manage education policy by removing the cumbersome bureaucracy that has become the hallmark of the U.S. Department of Education. Abolishing the department and reinvigorating state control of education would enable states like Florida to serve better the needs of students, parents and teachers. The president is doing what other Republicans have promised, but failed, to do," Florida's governor wrote.

"We welcome the federal government’s shift of responsibility to the states—and we are grateful that President Trump's executive order does just that. The EO also makes it clear that there will be no discrimination in the classrooms. We will continue to ensure every student graduates career-, college-, or military-ready," Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin celebrated.  He made educational freedom the centerpiece of his 2021 campaign.

Finally, Governor Bill Lee of Tennessee emphasized the ability of states to do better than the federal government. "It’s time to end this failed experiment and return education to the states. We know our children. We know what works. Let states lead — and watch our kids thrive," he penned in an op-ed published in The Daily Wire.