President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order aimed at abolishing the Department of Education and returning most of its resources to the state level, providing one of his biggest campaign promises. The order is a step in the right direction, but Trump alone cannot dismantle the department. Jimmy Carter first created the agency, and later Congress consolidated it into law. This means that only Congress can dismantle it. The president cannot just waving his magic wand and disappear.
Democrats make us believe Trump's executive order is a constitutional crisis. Education is under federal jurisdiction, and has always been intended. This is simply not the case.
Today, the Ministry of Education operates beyond its charter, with activist judges making laws from the bench.
According to Educational Institutions Actthe federal government never intended to deprive state and local government authority over education.
Protecting the rights of national and local governments, public and private educational institutions in the field of education policy and program management is the intention of the Congress in the establishment of Congress to strengthen and improve the management of such governments and institutions over their own education programs and policies.
The ED has been transferred to the opposite of the original intention. Instead of protecting local management, institutions have become federal giants who decide curriculum, policy and management at all levels.
Furthermore, the establishment document states that “the establishment of the Department of Education does not increase the federal authority over education.”
That didn't work, today the federal government is shaking a huge amount of authority over what schools teach, how to run, and who gets the funds. It is a bureaucratic monster that Congress never intended to exist in its current form.
This pattern of government behavior that moves away from its original intention is not new. In recent memory, the author of the Patriot Act lamented how the government can now use the law to extend federal authorities beyond its indentation. However, one lesson from history always applies. Give the government an inch and it takes 1 mile each time. The American founders knew this, and that's why they designed a system of checks and balance.
Overreach spreads to court
Left opposition to Trump's actions against the Department of Education highlights a wider issue. Government agencies, especially the courts, have stepped over their authority. Judges are increasingly ruling, using it as a tool to block Trump's policies little or no way for appeal, based on ideology rather than law.
This is judicial activity. The judge is supposed to interpret the law rather than write it. Imagine a football umpire deems worth 10 points rather than 6 points. That's exactly what activist judges do. Change rules midway through the game to match your agenda.
Constitutional framers foresaw the possibility of activist judges and provided solutions to restrain them. in Federalist 78Alexander Hamilton said that judges should not be in life unless judges maintain “good behaviour.” in Federalist 81Hamilton goes further, revealing that if a judge abuses his power, he could be fired each.
History then established a precedent. In the case of 1832 Worcester vs Georgiathe Supreme Court ruled that Georgia must stop interference with the Cherokee land. Georgia ignored it. The judge was able to rule on the legality of the case, but ultimately lacked the ultimate authority to enforce the law.
We do not propose to completely ignore the court. However, we must recognize that the judiciary was never intended to be the ultimate authority. It was designed to be the weakest sector of government. There is no military, no budget, no enforcement power beyond that verdict. Congress holds the purse strings and the president commands the army.
Time to restore balance
The president's move to cut the Department of Education is a step in the right direction, along with his other major checks on our indifferent federal bureaucracy. But trimming it isn't enough. It must be restored to its original purpose or completely dismantled.
Similarly, we need to hold the court down. A judge must not be a robe lawmaker. It is also this unidentified power that has enabled the federal bureaucracy to be mutated into its current form today. Congress has the power to check them, and that's when lawmakers use them.
Our founders designed a system where a single branch cannot control the other branches. But today, the Ministry of Education is operating beyond its charter, with activist judges making laws from the bench. We are far from the system assumed by the founder of the government.
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