Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is drawing fire for appearing at Thursday’s White House photo op where President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at eliminating the Education Department.
Trump — who’s criticized the department as wasteful and corrupted by progressive ideology — has publicly said he’s tasked Education Secretary Linda McMahon, an anti-union billionaire and WWE co-founder, with scrapping the agency. While the president has the ability to cut staff and resources, the department likely can’t be abolished without an act of Congress, experts maintain.
“At the White House right now,” Abbott, a Republican, tweeted Thursday afternoon before the signing event. “Headed to see President @realDonaldTrump return control of education back to the states — where it belongs.”
Texas Democrats and union officials wasted no time in skewering Abbott for cheering on Trump’s plan. The governor has repeatedly locked horns with both as he’s pushed for two legislative sessions to pass school voucher legislation that critics argue would gut public education funding while subsidizing private campus tuitions for wealthy families.
“In their attacks on education, Donald Trump and Greg Abbott attack the heart of Texas itself,” Texas House Democratic Caucus Chair Gene Wu said in an emailed statement. “Our children deserve classrooms that nurture their minds, not pad private pockets. Texas Democrats will defend your neighborhood schools because the next generation of Texans, regardless of background or circumstance, deserve nothing less.”
The Texas American Federation of Teachers also took aim at Abbott, arguing the Education Department has provided needed safeguards against harmful actions by Texas officials looking to cut corners when it comes to public education.
“It makes perfect sense for Gov. Greg Abbott to be on hand for the dismantling of the Department of Education,” Texas AFT CEO Zeph Capo said in a statement. “It has been the only governmental entity holding his administration accountable for guaranteeing parents’ and students’ rights to a free and fair education.”
A Department of Education investigation in 2018 caught Texas illegally capping the number of children in public schools receiving special education services to hold down costs, Capo pointed out. As a result, the federal government intervened and forced state officials to create a plan to correct course.
“On that note, hamstringing the federal agency that sends $3.66 billion annually to Texas public schools also aligns with the governor’s most recent mission: his relentless quest to starve our schools of resources, shame them for not meeting arbitrary standards, all so he can shutter and privatize them,” Capo added. “So yes, today, Gov. Abbott is exactly where we’d expect him to be — on the frontlines of destabilizing public education.”
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This article appears in Mar 19 – Apr 1, 2025.
