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The agency Trump wants to eliminate also has the power to enact his biggest campaign promises
https://www.yahoo.com/news/agency-trump-wants-eliminate-power-150000759.htmlDonald Trump’s pledge to push transgender athletes out of women’s sports, curb classroom lessons about gender and race, and punish schools for antisemitism hinges on an agency he wants to dismantle.
The president-elect has vowed to abolish the Education Department. But the power to enact some of his biggest campaign promises sits with the agency’s Office of Civil Rights, which wields a potent tool Washington has not used in decades: pulling federal funds from schools.
That legal muscle — which does not require congressional review — makes the office’s investigations incredibly persuasive to colleges and K-12 schools that rely on the money to operate. Even if the 550-person office targets a few districts and universities, it likely would rattle institutions across the country and influence how they function.
“A lot of conservatives would love a dismantling of the Department of Education,” said Sarah Parshall Perry, former senior counsel in Trump’s first civil rights office. “We need to be practical about the fact that that could likely be a very, very long, drawn out process. I am more concerned with using machinery in the federal government to right the ship.”
GOP strategists and even Democratic operatives are evaluating the effectiveness of transgender issues during the election — and what it will mean for their policy positions in 2026. Focusing on these subjects could offer Trump the chance to highlight an early win.
The president-elect has vowed to abolish the Education Department. But the power to enact some of his biggest campaign promises sits with the agency’s Office of Civil Rights, which wields a potent tool Washington has not used in decades: pulling federal funds from schools.
That legal muscle — which does not require congressional review — makes the office’s investigations incredibly persuasive to colleges and K-12 schools that rely on the money to operate. Even if the 550-person office targets a few districts and universities, it likely would rattle institutions across the country and influence how they function.
“A lot of conservatives would love a dismantling of the Department of Education,” said Sarah Parshall Perry, former senior counsel in Trump’s first civil rights office. “We need to be practical about the fact that that could likely be a very, very long, drawn out process. I am more concerned with using machinery in the federal government to right the ship.”
GOP strategists and even Democratic operatives are evaluating the effectiveness of transgender issues during the election — and what it will mean for their policy positions in 2026. Focusing on these subjects could offer Trump the chance to highlight an early win.