RILEY GAINES: Trump did right thing with DOE cuts, now Congress needs to get in the game

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court gave the green light for his administration to slash nearly a third of the Department of Education’s workforce. It’s a big (and long overdue) step toward reining in decades of federal overreach that’s taken power away from parents and local communities.Here’s what happened: The Court lifted a lower court’s block on Trump’s executive order, which directed Secretary of Education Linda McMahon to start shutting the department down and returning control of education to the states. Essential services would stay intact. But the bloated bureaucracy? That’s on the chopping block.And it should be. For years, the Department of Education has acted less like a support system and more like a control center. With around 4,000 employees, its main tasks have included writing regulations, managing student loans, and overseeing grants. Even its PR office has 89 staffers and costs taxpayers over $10 million a year. A quick number crunch shows a pretty glamorous salary for a not-so-glamorous job. That money’s not going to raise reading scores or teach kids about the Constitution, that’s for sure.SUPREME COURT RULES ON TRUMP'S MASS LAYOFFS AT EDUCATION DEPARTMENTThat’s why this restructuring matters. Student loan management is being handed over to the Treasury Department, where it belongs. A simplified repayment and collection system is already in motion. Meanwhile, other functions of the DOE are being reassigned to smaller, more efficient agencies. The goal? Streamline the system and put decision-making power back where it belongs: with parents and local authorities. Abolish the Department of Education entirely.But this is about more than just bureaucracy. It’s about values.For years, the DOE has pushed a radical agenda on schools across the country. In 2016, it sent a "Dear Colleague" letter to school districts, threatening to pull funding unless they allowed boys into girls’ locker rooms, bathrooms, and sports teams. This wasn’t about safety or fairness; it was about forcing schools to comply with a social ideology most parents never agreed to.CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINIONGo back even further. This radicalization started under the Obama administration. In 2011, the DOE rewrote Title IX rules to lower due process standards in campus sexual harassment cases, leading to lawsuits and unjust expulsions. In 2014, it teamed up with the DOJ to pressure schools into enforcing racial discipline quotas regardless of whether actual discrimination existed. Teachers were forced to ignore disruptive behavior to avoid triggering federal investigations. And under Biden, it got worse. The DOE tried to expand Title IX to include "gender identity" and disregard "sex," pressuring schools to rewrite policies on housing, sports, and facilities until courts stepped in and said enough.None of these decisions came from Congress. They were mandates from unelected bureaucrats, better known as people you didn’t vote for and can’t hold accountable. That’s not how a constitutional republic is supposed to work.Now, thanks to the Supreme Court, the door is open to real reform. Congress has the power to finish the job and eliminate the DOE for good. These layoffs are just the first move toward dismantling a department that has prioritized politics over education for far too long.For years, bureaucrats in D.C. have decided what our kids learn, what values they're taught, and who’s allowed to speak up in the classroom. That chapter is closing. Now it’s time to restore education to the people it actually affects: families, teachers, and local leaders.Local control means more freedom, better accountability, and real opportunities for students to succeed. It means pulling education out of Washington’s grip and giving it back to the people who know their kids best.The Supreme Court did its part. Now it’s Congress’s turn. Let’s finish what Trump started. Eliminate the Department of Education and build a system based on merit, fairness, and freedom.Our kids and, in turn, the future of America deserve nothing less.Editor's note: This column was first published on Outkick. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM RILEY GAINES