The Education Department announced Tuesday it was offloading six of its biggest grant programs to other parts of the executive branch — a major step in the Trump administration’s plan to close the sprawling agency.
A senior department official confirmed the Education Department’s office of K-12 and post-secondary education, which manages more than $31 billion in grants, would shift to the Department of Labor.
Elsewhere, the Health and Human Services Department would oversee grant programs to assist parents attending college with childcare, as well as management of foreign medical school accreditation.
As part of the remaining inter-agency agreements (IAAs), the State Department will take over foreign language programs, while the Interior Department will oversee Native American education programs.
Tuesday’s announcement does not affect the fate of the department’s $1.6 trillion student loan portfolio and its funding for students with disabilities, though the official confirmed they were “still exploring” transferring that to other departments.
The plans are expected to face legal challenges from Democrats and other liberal groups, who argue that the administration needs the consent of Congress to take such action. The department official argued Tuesday the IAAs were legally valid under the Economy Act of 1932, which allows executive agencies to acquire goods or services from any other department unless they could be found as conveniently or more cheaply in the private sector.
