WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN IF TRUMP ELIMINATES THE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT? Short answer: probably not much, if all the programs just move to other departments, which is the most likely outcome. Hard to see that it would be worth the political capital unless massive program changes are made.
(I also have to wonder how much of the failure is a direct result of ED’s building being an example of absolutely soul-crushing Soviet-style brutalism. The interior is even worse than the exterior. I wish I were exaggerating.)