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(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump continued his sweeping education agenda as he signed an executive order to diminish the Department of Education at the White House on Thursday.

The president’s order directs Education Secretary Linda McMahon to take all necessary steps permitted by law to shrink the Department of Education, according to the sources.

Trump signed the order during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House while flanked on each side by schoolchildren seated at desks.

“Today we take a historic action that was 45 years in the making,” he said, noting that his order will “begin eliminating the federal Department of Education.”

The move has been months in the making and will help the president fulfill his campaign promise of returning education power and decisions to the states.

“The Department of Education will be much smaller than it is today,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters earlier Thursday, noting the department will not be completely shut down and that it will continue to carry out “critical functions.”

“When it comes to student loans and Pell Grants, those will still be run out of the Department of Education,” she said. “But we don’t need to be spending more than $3 trillion over the course of a few decades on a department that’s clearly failing in its initial intention to educate our students.”

Trump is directing McMahon to take “all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return education authority to the States,” according to a White House summary of the order reviewed by ABC News.

The order also calls for the “uninterrupted delivery of services, programs, and benefits on which Americans rely.” It’s still unclear how the administration plans to accomplish that. Sources said the administration has been looking into how to move some of the key programs to other agencies.

Republican Govs. Ron DeSantis of Florida, Greg Abbott of Texas, Mike Braun of Indiana, Kim Reynolds of Iowa, Jeff Landry of Louisiana and Mike DeWine of Ohio were among the state leaders attending the signing ceremony.

However, several Democrats and education advocacy organizations slammed the order.

“Shutting down the Department of Education will harm millions of children in our nation’s public schools, their families and hardworking teachers,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a Thursday statement. “Congress created the Department of Education and only an act of Congress can eliminate it. We will stop this malignant Republican scheme in the House of Representatives and in the Courts.”

House Education and Workforce Committee ranking member Bobby Scott, D-Va., said the order will cause “irreparable harm” to students and educators.

“By dismantling ED, President Trump is implementing his own philosophy on education which can be summed up in his own words, ‘I love the poorly educated,'” he added.

The department took the first steps to downsize last week when it laid off nearly half its employees, and it shrunk significantly in size through a massive reduction in force, deferred resignations and retirement buyouts, according to the department.

Trump is expected to continue the reforms — pledging to erase more staff from the department.

“I expect it will [be shut down entirely],” Trump said on “Full Measure” with Sharyl Attkisson earlier this month. “You’ll have a few people left just to make sure [the states are] teaching English — you know, you say reading, writing and arithmetic.”

However, congressional approval is required to abolish a federal agency, and McMahon has acknowledged she would need Congress to carry out the president’s vision to close the department she’s been tapped to lead. It would take 60 “yes” votes in the Senate to overcome the filibuster and dismantle the department that Congress created.

“Legality aside, dismantling ED will exacerbate existing disparities, reduce accountability and put low-income students, students of color, students with disabilities and rural students at risk,” Scott said.

Critics argue the department is needed for vital financial assistance and grant programs. Education experts suggested that shuttering the Department of Education could gut public education funding and disproportionately affect high-need students across the country who rely on statutorily authorized programs, such as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and Title 1, which provides funding for low-income families.

These programs could be housed in a reformed, shrunken-down Department of Education, and McMahon said the department will still administer those statutory programs that students from disadvantaged backgrounds rely on. In an interview on Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle,” McMahon suggested the “good” employees who administer the statutorily mandated functions will not be harmed by staff reductions.

A statement from the department said it will “continue to deliver on all statutory programs that fall under the agency’s purview, including formula funding, student loans, Pell Grants, funding for special needs students, and competitive grantmaking.”

In more than four decades, Trump and Department of Education skeptics have said they believe the agency has had too much spending power without achieving results.

After McMahon was sworn in, she underscored that abolishing the department is rooted in allowing families the right to choose a “quality education” so America’s students aren’t “stuck in failing schools.”

“This is also, I would say, a national security issue,” Leavitt added Thursday morning. “When you look at how students around the world, particularly in China, are being educated, American students are falling behind. We’re not keeping up with our allies or our adversaries, and that’s a major problem for our country, and the president is fixing it today.”

After Trump signed the bill, House Education and Workforce Committee Chairman Tim Walberg said McMahon “understands the importance of getting the federal government out of the way.”

“Bottom line, the Department of Education has failed to deliver results for America’s students and today’s actions by the Trump administration will help ensure our nation’s youth are put first,” he added.

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(WASHINGTON) — U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, the federal judge who blocked the Trump administration from deporting noncitizens — Venezuelan immigrants that it alleges are members of the gang Tren de Aragua — without due process accused the Justice Department of evading “its obligations” to comply with his order for more information on the deportation flights, per a new filing on Thursday.

Boasberg said in an order Thursday that after a noon deadline, Justice Department attorneys filed a written declaration from an acting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement field officer, which repeated general information about the deportation flights and that Cabinet secretaries were still weighing whether to invoke the states secret privilege, a move that allows the head of an executive department to refuse to produce evidence in a court case on the grounds that the evidence is secret information that would harm national security or foreign relation interests if disclosed, according to the Center for Constitutional Rights.

“This is woefully insufficient,” Boasberg said in response.

Boasberg ordered more information about the deportation flights, which the administration carried out under the Alien Enemies Act, a rarely used wartime authority. Boasberg ordered that they turn around two flights the administration said were deporting the alleged migrant gang members to El Salvador. Officials failed to turn those flights around.

The Trump administration has not yet released the names of the alleged gang members who were deported.

The Department of Justice initially refused to provide more information about the flights, citing national security concerns.

Boasberg said Thursday that he is requiring the government to show cause by March 25 on why its responses thus far and the failure to return the undocumented migrants to the U.S. did not violate his temporary restraining orders.

Additionally, he asked the government to file a sworn declaration by 10 a.m. Friday by an individual involved in Trump’s Cabinet discussions over the state secrets privilege — and to say by March 25 whether they plan to invoke the privilege.

On Thursday, ABC News’ Karen Travers asked White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt why the administration wasn’t turning over the information regarding the deportation flights if they are confident that they complied with the judge’s order.

“We are confident that we’ve complied, and as I’ve said from the podium, all of the flights that were subject to the written order of the judge took off before the written order was pushed in the courtroom,” Leavitt said. “And the president is all within his article, his Article II power and his authority under the Alien Enemies Act to make these decisions.”

Earlier this week, Trump and some House Republicans called to impeach Boasberg, with Trump calling the judge “radical left.”

Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts issued a rare statement on the impeachment threat, signaling a stark difference in opinion between the judicial and executive branches.

“For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision,” Roberts said in the statement. “The normal appellate review process exists for that purpose.”

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(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order to diminish the Department of Education at the White House on Thursday, multiple sources told ABC News.

The president’s order will direct Education Secretary Linda McMahon to take all necessary steps permitted by law to dissolve the Department of Education, according to the sources.

The move has been months in the making and will help the president fulfill his campaign promise of returning education power and decisions to the states.

“The Department of Education will be much smaller than it is today,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Thursday morning, noting the department will not be completely shut down and that it will continue to carry out “critical functions.”

“When it comes to student loans and Pell Grants, those will still be run out of the Department of Education,” she said. “But we don’t need to be spending more than $3 trillion over the course of a few decades on a department that’s clearly failing in its initial intention to educate our students.”

Trump will direct McMahon, to take “all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return education authority to the States,” according to a White House summary of the order reviewed by ABC News.

The order also calls for the “uninterrupted delivery of services, programs, and benefits on which Americans rely.” It’s still unclear how the administration plans to accomplish that. Sources said the administration has been looking into how to move some of the key programs to other agencies.

Republican Govs. Ron DeSantis of Florida, Glenn Youngkin of Virginia, Greg Abbott of Texas and Mike DeWine of Ohio are among the state leaders expected to attend the signing ceremony at the White House, according to a White House official.

The department took the first steps to downsize and shut down last week when it laid off nearly half its employees, and it shrunk significantly in size through a massive reduction in force, deferred resignations and retirement buyouts, according to the department.

Trump is expected to continue the reforms — pledging to erase more staff from the department and gut it.

“I expect it will [be shut down entirely],” Trump said on “Full Measure” with Sharyl Attkisson earlier this month. “You’ll have a few people left just to make sure [the states are] teaching English — you know, you say reading, writing and arithmetic.”

However, congressional approval is required to abolish a federal agency, and McMahon has acknowledged she would need Congress to carry out the president’s vision to close the department she’s been tapped to lead. It would take 60 “yes” votes in the Senate to overcome the filibuster and dismantle the department that Congress created.

Critics argue the department is needed for vital financial assistance and grant programs. Education experts suggested that shuttering the Department of Education could gut public education funding and disproportionately affect high-need students across the country who rely on statutorily authorized programs, such as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and Title 1, which provides funding for low-income families.

McMahon said the department will still administer those statutory programs that students from disadvantaged backgrounds rely on. In an interview on Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle,” McMahon suggested the “good” employees who administer the statutorily mandated functions will not be harmed by staff reductions.

A statement from the department said it will “continue to deliver on all statutory programs that fall under the agency’s purview, including formula funding, student loans, Pell Grants, funding for special needs students, and competitive grantmaking.”

In more than four decades, Trump and Department of Education skeptics believe the agency has had too much spending power without achieving results.

After McMahon was sworn in, she underscored that abolishing the department is rooted in allowing families the right to choose a “quality education” so America’s students aren’t “stuck in failing schools.”

“This is also, I would say, a national security issue,” Leavitt added Thursday morning. “When you look at how students around the world, particularly in China, are being educated, American students are falling behind. We’re not keeping up with our allies or our adversaries, and that’s a major problem for our country, and the president is fixing it today.”

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) — George Glezmann, a U.S. citizen who was detained by the Taliban for more than two years, has been released, according to the State Department.

“Today, after two and a half years of captivity in Afghanistan, Delta Airlines mechanic George Glezmann is on his way to be reunited with his wife, Aleksandra,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement.

Rubio thanked Qatar, which said it “facilitated” the release of Glezmann, for its “steadfast commitment and diplomatic efforts,” calling Qatari officials “instrumental in securing George’s release.”

“George’s release is a positive and constructive step,” Rubio added. “It is also a reminder that other Americans are still detained in Afghanistan. President Trump will continue his tireless work to free ALL Americans unjustly detained around the world.”

Afghanistan is classified by the State Department as a Level 4 country, meaning Americans should not travel there under any circumstances.

Glezmann, an airline mechanic for Delta Air Lines, was visiting Afghanistan as a tourist in late 2022 and intended to spend five days in the country exploring its history and culture, according to his family. He was detained by the Taliban’s intelligence service on Dec. 5 but was never charged with any crime or offense.

In September 2023, he was declared wrongfully detained by the Biden administration.

The Taliban jailed Glezmann in a 9-foot-by-9-foot cell with other detainees and sometimes held him in “solitary confinement and underground for months at a time,” according to a resolution put forward by Democratic Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock from Glezmann’s home state of Georgia.

While in custody, Glezmann also suffered from “from facial tumors, hypertension, severe malnutrition and other medical conditions” and experienced a rapid decline in his physical and mental health, per the senators.

Talks aimed at bringing Glezmann home have been happening on and off since shortly after his detention, according to U.S. officials.

Negotiators came close in January, when officials cut a deal to bring Americans Ryan Corbett and another U.S. national in a prisoner swap — but the Taliban rejected efforts to include Glezmann in the exchange.

“Today is a good day. We succeeded in obtaining the release of an American citizen, Georg Glezmann, after two years in detention in Kabul,” former U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad posted on X following his release. “The Taliban government agreed to free him as a goodwill gesture to @POTUS and the American people. George is on his way home to his family.”

Taliban foreign affairs office posted on X that U.S. and Taliban officials met in Afghanistan on Thursday and discussed “bilateral relations” and “positive economic relations” as they negotiated the release of Glezmann.

Glezmann has arrived in Doha, Qatar, per the Qatari government, and is travelling with Adam Boehler, the Trump administration’s special envoy for hostage response, and is likely to arrive back in the United States on Friday, according to a U.S. official, though the plans could change.

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(WASHINGTON) — An attorney representing a migrant sent to El Salvador under the Alien Enemies Act says her client was deported due to a soccer logo tattoo, according to court declarations submitted Wednesday night.

Linette Tobin is representing Jerce Reyes Barrios, a professional soccer player from Venezuela who protested the Maduro regime in February and March 2024 and was detained and tortured after one of the demonstrations.

Barrios came to the U.S.-Mexico border legally through the CBP One app in September 2024 but has been accused of being a Tren de Aragua, or TdA, member and was detained at a facility under maximum security, Tobin said.

The Biden administration expanded the use of the CBP One phone application to allow migrants to submit some background information and schedule appointments with immigration officials at ports of entry. Officials would then determine if the person could be allowed into the country, some in order to submit an asylum claim. President Donald Trump eliminated that feature during his first days in office.  

The Department of Homeland Security has accused Barrios of having a gang-affiliated tattoo and claimed a photo of him showed him displaying gang signs. ABC News has reached out to DHS.

The tattoo in question showed a crown sitting on top of a soccer ball with a rosary and the word “Dios” (God), according to Tobin. A declaration from the tattoo artist confirmed that Barrios chose it because it was similar to the Real Madrid soccer team logo, the attorney said. According to Tobin, those alleged gang signs were the hand symbol for rock and roll and “I love you” in sign language.

Tobin also said she submitted records from Venezuela that indicated Barrios had no criminal record in his home country and was employed as a professional soccer player and children’s soccer coach. 

Barrios was transferred out of maximum security after submitting this evidence and had a hearing set for April 17, according to his attorney.

Around March 10 or 11, Tobin said her client was transferred to Texas without notice and was promptly deported to El Salvador on March 15.

“Counsel and family have lost all contact with him and have no information” about his whereabouts, Tobin wrote in the court documents.

Trump announced on Saturday he had signed a proclamation declaring that the Tren de Aragua gang was “conducting irregular warfare” against the United States and therefore would deport its members under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798.

U.S. District Judge James Boasberg on Saturday blocked the Trump administration from deporting noncitizens under the Alien Enemies Act and ordered that they turn around two flights the administration said were deporting alleged migrant gang members to El Salvador.

After officials failed to turn the flights around, Judge Boasberg demanded they provide more information about the flights, under seal, but Justice Department attorneys refused, citing national security concerns. According to a court filing Wednesday morning, DOJ attorneys said they are considering invoking the state secrets privilege to deny the judge that information.

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