The Biggest News Stories Of 2025

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Updated Feb. 4, 2025, 12:00 p.m.

Since the beginning of 2025, the United States has experienced a series of significant events across political, legal, and social spheres.

The Trump administration is preparing to draft an executive order aimed at initiating the process of dismantling the Department of Education, CNN Reports. This action marks the latest effort by President Donald Trump to fulfill his campaign promises quickly.

The proposed order would unfold in two phases according to CNN sources. The first step would instruct the Secretary of Education to develop a plan for reducing the department’s size through executive actions.

In addition, Trump would advocate for legislation in Congress to formally eliminate the department, as the administration acknowledges that such a move would ultimately require congressional approval.

Calls to dissolve or consolidate the department with another federal agency have been ongoing for years, though these efforts have historically struggled to gain traction in Congress.

During his first term, the Trump administration suggested merging the Department of Education with the Department of Labor into a single agency. Despite Republicans holding majorities in both the Senate and House of Representatives at the time, the proposal was unsuccessful.

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This year, the Department of Education is also being scrutinized by the Department of Government Efficiency, led by Elon Musk, CNN reports.

As part of broader efforts to reduce the federal workforce’s ties to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility initiatives, dozens of employees at the Education Department were placed on paid administrative leave on Friday.

Throughout his campaign, Trump often criticized the Department of Education, portraying it as an example of federal overreach and linking it to contentious cultural issues. “We will drain the government education swamp and stop the abuse of your taxpayer dollars to indoctrinate America’s youth with all sorts of things that you don’t want to have our youth hearing,” he declared.

Even if the department were abolished, some programs and funding could be preserved and redirected to other agencies, as many of these initiatives existed before the department’s creation in 1979. For example, federal programs supporting K-12 education for low-income students and children with disabilities existed prior to the establishment of the Department of Education.

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From politics to weather, keep scrolling for some of the major news stories we have witnessed in 2025.