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Lawmakers tried to access the Education Department on Friday but were denied entry.
Katherine Knott/Inside Higher Ed
Standing outside the Education Department on Friday, a group of congressional Democrats said they had one question for acting education secretary Denise Carter: “Will you comply with an executive order to shut down the department?”
But the Democrats, led by Representative Mark Takano of California, didn’t get a chance to ask that question. A security guard denied them entry, saying they needed an appointment or escort. Officers from the Department of Homeland Security stood inside the building as the representatives argued with the guard that they should be let in.
Before trying to open the locked doors labeled “All Access,” Takano and other representatives declared they would not allow President Trump to shut down the agency, saying only Congress could take such action. But they didn’t say exactly how they would stop Trump beyond raising awareness about the administration’s actions.
Lawmakers who spoke in front of the department Friday said they welcomed oversight of the agency but defended its existence as key to supporting public education and students with disabilities, as well as making higher education accessible.
Earlier in the week, Takano and 95 other lawmakers requested a meeting with Carter to discuss media reports that the Trump administration was finalizing plans for an executive order to dismantle the department. Takano said Friday that they haven’t heard back.
Adding to the pushback, eight key senators and representatives also wrote a letter to the department regarding their “serious concerns about actions” at the agency. They sought more information about the steps department staff are taking “to ensure the continuity of programs that Americans depend on.”
“We will not stand by and allow the impact that dismantling the Department of Education would have on the nation’s students, parents, borrowers, educators, and communities,” the lawmakers wrote. “Congress created the department to ensure all students in America have equal access to a high-quality education and that their civil rights are protected no matter their zip code.”
