What Texas could lose if the Education Department is dismantled
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President Trump's pledge to dismantle the Department of Education could cost red states like Texas more than blue states.
Why it matters: Public school funding mainly comes from local and state governments, but states that voted for Trump rely more on federal support to fill the gaps than those that backed Kamala Harris.
What they're saying: "That dependence is, in large part, because they're just lower-wealth states and they don't have the same capacity to step in and make up that difference," Kevin Welner, the director of the National Education Policy Center, told Axios.
The latest: House Republicans introduced a bill last month to terminate the Education Department on Dec. 31, 2026. With slim majorities in both chambers, it's unlikely to pass, if it even reaches a floor vote.
- In Texas, Republican state Rep. Andy Hopper filed a bill last week to abolish the Texas Education Agency (TEA), echoing federal Republicans' push. If lawmakers pass the bill, the State Board of Education would assume the TEA's powers.
The big picture: Average federal spending in the 2021-22 school year was 17% in Trump-voting states, compared with 11% in states that voted for Harris.
Zoom in: Federal funding made up 18% of Texas' public school budget for the 2021-2022 school year, compared with 23% in Mississippi — the highest in the nation — and just 7% in New York, the lowest, per USA Facts.
Threat level: States would likely handle cuts to federal education funding in different ways. Those that have more low-income families and, in turn, receive higher shares of Title I funding would feel the impact most, per Welner.
- Texas alone could lose approximately $2 billion in federal funding if Title I is eliminated, according to the Education Law Center.
Reality check: A president does not have the authority to create or dismantle a federal agency; only Congress does.
- The legislative branch has historically resisted such moves.