Elon Musk with US President Donald Trump.

After being inaugurated for his second term on January 20, 2025, President Trump is moving ahead with one of his longstanding promises: dismantling the US Department of Education. Although this goal has been a point of contention for many Republican leaders over the years, it has remained largely unfulfilled. However, a new proposal by Christopher F. Rufo in City Journal outlines how this ambitious vision could be realized — with the support of tech entrepreneur Elon Musk and his team at DOGE.
Rufo, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, provides a detailed plan that targets the core functions of the Department of Education, which oversees everything from student loans to K-12 funding. According to Rufo’s proposal, Trump’s goal of dismantling the department could finally become a reality with a strategic, three-pronged approach: restructuring the student loan system, decentralizing K-12 funding, and eliminating the ideological influence within the department. With Musk’s track record of cost-cutting and restructuring at companies like Twitter, Rufo believes this reform could be executed swiftly and effectively.
The key elements of the proposal
Rufo’s suggestion starts with the massive federal student loan portfolio, which amounts to $1.7 trillion. The idea is to spin off the student loan program into an independent entity, effectively separating it from the Department of Education. Currently, the government backs an enormous sum in student loans, a system that many see as unsustainable. By privatizing much of the loan system and restricting the issuance of new loans, Rufo proposes that the burden of student debt could be reduced, while the administrative overhead would be slashed significantly.
The next step involves K-12 education. Rufo argues that the federal government’s involvement in K-12 funding — roughly $100 billion per year — should be reduced. Instead of funneling funds through Washington, the plan calls for block grants to states, which would then have the flexibility to decide how the money is spent. This would eliminate the often cumbersome federal guidelines and restrictions that come with federal aid, while allowing states to better address local educational needs.
Shutting down the ideological machinery
Perhaps the most controversial part of Rufo’s proposal is the elimination of the Department of Education’s ideological influence. He claims that the department has become a breeding ground for left-wing activism, pushing progressive policies on issues like race and gender into local schools. To address this, Rufo recommends dismantling the department’s “ideological production” centers and redirecting civil rights functions to the Department of Justice. This would significantly curtail the department’s role in shaping educational content, especially when it comes to divisive social issues.
A vision for the future
In Rufo’s view, the Department of Education is an inefficient and ideological behemoth that needs to be dismantled in favor of a more localized, market-driven system. While Trump has long advocated for reducing the size of government, this proposal offers a concrete way to shrink the federal education bureaucracy. By combining Trump’s political will with Musk’s cost-cutting ingenuity, Rufo believes this radical transformation of US education could not only be accomplished but could also spark a broader movement for decentralization and reform.
In conclusion, if implemented, Rufo’s plan could profoundly reshape US education. The combination of a smaller federal government, privatized student loans, and more local control over K-12 funding would mark a dramatic departure from the current system. Whether or not the Trump administration will move forward with such sweeping reforms remains to be seen, but for now, the proposal offers a vision of a future without the Department of Education.