'Put yourself out of job': Trump says he nominated Linda McMahon to lead—and end—education department

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday reiterated that his goal for education secretary nominee Linda McMahon is to eliminate the department of education altogether.

"I told Linda — "Linda, I hope you do a great job and put yourself out of a job,'" Trump said to reporters on Tuesday. "I want her to put herself out of a job [in the] education department."

Trump, 78, was asked about his decision to nominate McMahon, 76, despite his push to eliminate the department. McMahon, who previously served as the administrator of the small business administration during Trump’s first term, has publicly supported the plan.



There has been speculation that Trump may take executive action to dismantle the department, but legal experts say he would need approval from Congress.

"I think I’d work with Congress," Trump said. "We’d have to work with the teachers union because the teachers union is the only one that’s opposed to it."

"We have to tell the teachers union we’re rated last in the world in education of the top 40," Trump added. It was not immediately clear which rating system he was referring to.

The department of education was established in 1979 under President Jimmy Carter. Calls to eliminate it have been part of conservative policy discussions for decades. Former President Ronald Reagan also supported its removal.

The department currently has some 4,400 employees and a $79 billion annual budget.

According to USASpending.gov, the department had $241.66 billion in budgetary resources last fiscal year, with about $180 billion allocated to the Office of Federal Student Aid, which handles student loans.

Trump has argued that education decisions should be left to individual states.

"I think that if you moved our schools into some of these states that are really well-run states, they would be as good as Denmark and Norway and Sweden," Trump said. "But you’d have the laggards, the same laggards that are laggards with everything else, including crime."

Since returning to office, Trump has pursued efforts to reduce the size of the federal government.