In order to scrap the agency, the incoming Republican president would need congressional approval.

When Donald Trump told Elon Musk one of his first acts as president would be to “close the Department of Education, move education back to the states,” he was invoking a GOP promise that goes back to President Ronald Reagan and the department’s founding.

The feds not only fund programs for the most vulnerable children, but also Pell grants, manage state compliance with federal law, like Title IX.