Bill Maher: Trump Right on Ending Education Dept.

The New American ^ | November 24, 2025 | Selwyn Duke

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Here’s a question: How much replication do we need in government?

How many levels of government must we have doing the same thing — and sometimes conflicting with each other?

How many captains should there be on a ship?

This could come to mind when pondering, oh, let’s say, the United States Department of Education (DoE). Efforts to eliminate it are met with resistance, but how many realize that it’s just one out of about 1,200?

That’s right. Considering federal, state, county, city, and town education departments, there are approximately 1,150-1,200 coast to coast. Given this, if we nixed a quarter of them, let alone one, would they really be missed? Well, quite a number of Americans certainly wouldn’t miss the DoE, and one of them is comedian and commentator Bill Maher.

In fact, on his show Friday evening, Maher defended President Donald Trump’s plan to eliminate the DoE. Bemoaning the state of today’s education, the commentator asked an obvious question.

“Why do we need the Department of Education,” wondered Maher, “if it has done such a s[*****] job?”

(Clearly, Maher needs to read my Saturday article on vulgarity and get educated in that department.)

The other possibility is that perhaps we don’t have enough education departments. Maybe the 1,201st will be the ticket. Get Yer Edumecation, Son

Maher made his comments while defending not just Trump, but also the latter’s education secretary, Linda McMahon. He pointed out that conservative southern states such as Mississippi and Louisiana are now surpassing some liberal states in reading and math. And this isn’t happening, mind you, because of woke DoE prescriptions, but because these states have returned to basics. (More on that later.)

Addressing political analyst Donna Brazile and rapper “Killer Mike” (ahem), the commentator related on his...

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TOPICS: Education
KEYWORDS:

[Dave911]

When you’ve stopped teaching the basics you’ve failed. Any honest teacher should know that.

[IndispensableDestiny]

Way much more than 1,150-1,200 coast to coast. New Jersey has 600 school districts by itself.

[IndispensableDestiny]

Now I get he means departments, not boards of education.

[Mark]

Bookmark

[Maine Mariner]

Not just abolish the Department of Education but take a serious look at the various colleges of “Education”
If you believed that phonics was an important teaching tool you might still be able to earn a BA in Education but an MA or a Doctorate in Education, EDU forget about it-and a teaching position in a college of Education-impossible.

I hope getting rid of the DoE is just a start. Alternatives to earning teaching credentials need to be developed. Also, if you are teaching in grades 7-12 you are required to earn a BA or BS degree with a major or minor in the field of teaching and within 10 years an MA or MS in your field.

[Reily]

Until there’s legislation repealing it the Dept of Education can easily be reestablished by a Rat administration.

I agree completely with disestablishing the pseudo-field of education. Some states have procedures for allowing non-ed majors into the education profession. Maybe anyone with a BS\BA then do a year of a teaching apprenticeship could be certified to teach at the K12 level.

[Maine Mariner]

Excellent observations about the teaching apprentice programs. I need to look into them.

[MacNaughton]

[Terry L Smith]

For those born as of the Fall of The Berlin Wall,used to be that each state ran the education department as to the major industry within the state. For example, Wisconsin was farming. The NY/NJ/CT Tri-state area was business, manufacturing. Also within the Tri-State area, some school districts had one of the high schools set up as a trade school..electrician, plumber, carpenter,auto mechanic.
Th graduate with a diploma, and an apprenticeship in a trade, recognized by the local trade unions.
Not a bad start.

[ProgressingAmerica]

What is he talking about?

I have not seen anybody from the administration ask Congress for an abolish bill, and no abolish bill has been passed.

The department will live on without an abolish.

[Bullish]

DOE is just a jobs program for people who make a living out of doing nothing useful.

[Ann Archy]

I would love to see EX-MILITARY go into INNER CITY SCHOOLS and TEACH!! There would be DISCIPLINE and ACTUAL LEARNING, instead of these fat old black Democrat women that have no idea of how to teach.

[Ann Archy]

I would love to see EX-MILITARY go into INNER CITY SCHOOLS and TEACH!! There would be DISCIPLINE and ACTUAL LEARNING, instead of these fat old black Democrat women that have no idea of how to teach.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

...fat old black Democrat women that have no idea of how to teach.

Or read.