Trump says 'let the states run the schools’

WASHINGTON

US President Donald Trump on Thursday reiterated his desire to bring the schools back to the states.

"We're trying to get the schools back into the states, let the states run the schools," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

The US is ranked at the "bottom" of the list in education, he added.

Student loans will be handled by the Treasury Department, the Small Business Administration or the Commerce Department, Trump suggested, when asked if the Education Department was eliminated.

Trump is expected to sign an executive order soon that would seek to close the Department of Education, which was established by Congress in 1979.

The president cannot dismantle the department with an executive order. Only Congress can close the department or reassign its duties. But congressional approval seems unlikely since the legislation would require a supermajority of 60 votes to pass in the Senate.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer along with ranking members of the Senate held a news conference Thursday to voice concern about Trump’s "prepared cruel and illegal" executive order.

"This would be, if it happens, one of the most destructive and devastating steps that Donald Trump has ever taken. Who's going to be the victim? American kids, America's school children," Schumer said.

The Department of Education is a "lifeline" for schools across America, he said, adding without it, many of them would vanish, and schools will crumble at the foundation.

"But don't use the chainsaw to just eliminate the Department of Education and public education because you're gambling with our kids' future. Democrats will fight this awful decision every step of the way," he added.