Trump to sign order to shut down Department of Education

But move faces hurdles, including a lawsuit, pushback from Democrats

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WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump will sign a long-anticipated executive order on March 20 that aims to shut down the Department of Education, acting on a key campaign pledge, according to a White House summary seen by Reuters.

Even before it has been signed, the order is being challenged by a group of Democratic state attorneys-general, who filed a lawsuit last week seeking to block Mr Trump from dismantling the department and halt the layoffs of nearly half of its staff.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), a leading civil rights group, also blasted the expected order as unconstitutional.

"This is a dark day for the millions of American children who depend on federal funding for a quality education, including those in poor and rural communities with parents who voted for Trump," NAACP president Derrick Johnson said in a statement.

Mr Trump and his billionaire adviser Elon Musk have attempted to shut down government programmes and institutions such as the US Agency for International Development without congressional approval, but abolishing the Department of Education would be Mr Trump's first attempt to shut down a Cabinet-level agency.

Mr Trump cannot shutter the agency without congressional legislation, which could prove difficult. Mr Trump's Republicans hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate, but major legislation, such as a Bill eliminating a Cabinet-level agency, would need 60 votes and thus the support of seven Democrats to pass.

Senate Democrats have given no sign they would support abolishing the Education Department.