N.J. Democrats pen letter panning Trump’s move to abolish Education Department

In response to President Donald Trump’s executive order last week directing U.S. Education Secretary of Education Linda McMahon to begin dismantling her own department, New Jersey’s nine House Democrats have penned a letter to McMahon expressing their “deep concern” over the future of the department.

“The Department’s mission is to promote student achievement and global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access to high-quality learning opportunities,” the letter states. “President Trump’s recent executive order, the Department’s proposed budget cuts, and mass layoffs of more than half of the Department’s workforce illegally bypass Congress’s clear funding instructions and must be immediately reversed to avoid further damage to our nation’s public education system.”

The letter was led by Rep. Frank Pallone (D-Long Branch) and signed by the state’s eight other House Democrats: Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-Ewing), Mikie Sherrill (D-Montclair), LaMonica McIver (D-Newark), Nellie Pou (D-North Haledon), Rob Menendez (D-Jersey City), Josh Gottheimer (D-Tenafly), Herb Conaway (D-Delran), and Donald Norcross (D-Camden).

Pallone’s office said that New Jersey’s three Republican representatives were also offered the chance to sign onto the letter, but they did not do so.

Because the Education Department was created by an act of Congress in 1979, only Congress has the constitutional authority to shut the department down. Some congressional Republicans have signaled interest in doing just that, but in the meantime, several teachers’ unions and school districts have filed a federal lawsuit in Massachusetts aiming to halt Trump’s executive order targeting the department.

The letter from New Jersey’s Democrats cites the ways that they say the Education Department has helped New Jersey’s public schools, which are consistently ranked among the best in the country, through federal funding for special education programs, grants for disadvantaged students, support for teachers’ professional development, and more.

“If the Department of Education is dismantled and federal funds are unlawfully withheld, millions of students and their families in New Jersey will suffer,” the letter states. “Local school districts will face massive budget shortfalls leading to teacher layoffs, increased classroom sizes, and higher property taxes. Students, families, and local taxpayers will bear the burden of these irresponsible and unlawful actions.”