Closing the department requires an act of Congress, but Trump could make it nearly impossible for remaining employees to carry out their work, much like at USAID.

President Donald Trump will likely sign an executive order Thursday to dismantle the Department of Education, according to multiple reports, after earlier moves by Trump to overhaul the department and calls to shutter the agency—though eliminating the department will likely require congressional approval.

Trump has derided the agency as wasteful and polluted by liberal ideology. However, finalizing its dismantling is likely impossible without an act of Congress, which created the department in 1979.