President Trump is eyeing an executive order to dismantle the Education Department, which has placed dozens of staffers on leave in what their union says is a move to encourage resignations.

Eliminating the department completely would take an act of Congress, but Trump is considering actions to gut its major functions, according to multiple reports this week. Trump has long sought to wipe the department from the federal government, and, responding to one of those reports, Elon Musk said Trump "will succeed" where other conservatives have failed.

“The whole thing is absurd,” Jon Valant, director of the Brown Center on Education Policy at the Brookings Institute, said of the Education staffers placed on leave.

While it was pinned to Trump's antidiversity efforts, the push to forced leave “feels much more connected to” reports that Trump is looking at executive actions to weaken the department, Valant said.

“I think they are trying to squeeze the department in any way they can, to try to encourage people to leave, force people to leave, do whatever they can to shrink, destabilize and kneecap the department, knowing full well that they can't just outright eliminate it or most of its major programs and offices without the cooperation of Congress,” he added.

The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that Trump is looking at executive actions to cripple the Education Department, such as taking away programs not explicitly written into law, moving functions to different departments and calling for Congress to pass a law completely abolishing the federal agency.

Multiple people familiar with the conversations told the outlet the specifics and timing are still up for debate, and the president is facing pressure from others........

© The Hill