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 Learning 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 Development Linda McMahon to start shutting the department down and returning control of instruction 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 Training has acted less like a assistance system and more like a control center With around employees its main tasks have included writing regulations managing pupil loans and overseeing grants Even its PR office has staffers and costs taxpayers over 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 SCHOOLING DEPARTMENTThat s why this restructuring matters Apprentice 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 personnel Abolish the Department of Guidance 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 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 the greater part parents never agreed to CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINIONGo back even further This radicalization started under the Obama administration In the DOE rewrote Title IX rules to lower due process standards in campus sexual harassment cases leading to lawsuits and unjust expulsions In 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 explained 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 reorganization 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 development 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 learning to the people it definitely affects families teachers and local leaders Local control means more freedom better accountability and real opportunities for students to succeed It means pulling development 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 Guidance 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