A Senate committee advanced legislation Thursday that would prevent the White House from transferring four major Education Department offices to other federal agencies. The bill, which passed on a 13-to-9 vote, protects programs within the offices of special education, elementary and secondary education, postsecondary education, and Indian education.
The measure represents a significant split within the Republican caucus over President Trump’s broader push to eliminate or restructure the Education Department. Senator Tim Kaine, a Virginia Democrat who sponsored the bill, secured bipartisan support by focusing the legislation on these four offices rather than attempting to block all of the administration’s interagency agreements. Republican Senators Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska crossed party lines to co-sponsor the bill, arguing that Congress placed these programs under the Education Department for specific reasons and that moving them could harm students.
Other Republican officials voiced strong support for the administration’s restructuring efforts. Senator Tommy Tuberville of Alabama contended that the Education Department has failed students and that consolidating its functions elsewhere would improve outcomes. Meanwhile, Education Secretary Linda McMahon wrote to Congress defending the agreements, stating they have produced measurable results and streamlined government operations.
Senator Bill Cassidy, the Louisiana Republican who chairs the committee, did not vote for the bill but acknowledged concerns about specific transfers, particularly moving special education services to the Department of Health and Human Services. He argued this shift would reframe special education from an educational and civil rights model to a medical model, potentially disadvantaging students with disabilities.
The legislation faces uncertain prospects in the full Senate and House, where many Republicans continue backing the administration’s restructuring plan. Other Education Department offices, including the Office for Civil Rights and the Office of Career and Technical Education, have already been transferred to the Department of Justice and Department of Labor respectively under existing interagency agreements.
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