What Trump Has Promised to Do to 5 Federal Agencies – in His Own Words
His proposed changes could affect virtually every federal agency if implemented, though some are likely to see more attention and scrutiny than others.
Trump will face some limitations while implementing his agenda, but he’s certainly in a better spot than he was during his first stint in the Oval Office. Now, Republicans will have control of both the House and the Senate.
However, the margins are thin and in-fighting within the GOP could impede his goals. Trump can rely on executive orders for some of his pledges, but the bigger ones would require help from Congress.
Other large changes could go through the rule-making process, although that can be lengthy and any controversial decisions are likely to face legal challenges.
Still, Trump is sure to push the envelope as far as he can when it comes to his second term and achieving the lofty pledges he has made to Americans. Here are some of Trump’s promises for specific agencies, in his own words:
Education Department
"One thing I'll be doing very early in the administration is closing up the Department of Education in Washington, D.C., and sending all education and education work it needs back to the states," Trump said in a campaign video.
“We’re going to end education coming out of Washington, D.C. We’re going to close it up – all those buildings all over the place and people that in many cases hate our children. We’re going to send it all back to the states,” Trump also said in the video.
“Across the country, we need to implement strict prohibitions on teaching inappropriate racial, sexual and political material to America’s schoolchildren in any form whatsoever. And if federal bureaucrats are going to push this radicalism, we should abolish the Department of Education,” Trump said at the Conservative Political Action Conference last year.
Health and Human Services Department
“I’m going to let him go wild on health,” Trump said of his nominee to lead the agency, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., in October. “I’m going to let him go wild on the food. I’m going to let him go wild on medicines.”
“Mr. Kennedy will restore these Agencies to the traditions of Gold Standard Scientific Research, and beacons of Transparency, to end the Chronic Disease epidemic, and to Make America Great and Healthy Again,” Trump posted on social media.
"Obamacare was lousy health care – always was," Trump said during the September presidential debate. "It's not very good today. And what I said, that if we come up with something – and we are working on things. We're going to do it and we're going to replace it."
Trump’s 2024 Campaign in Photos
NATIONAL HARBOR, MARYLAND - FEBRUARY 24: Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump hugs an American flag as he arrives at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at the Gaylord National Resort Hotel And Convention Center on February 24, 2024 in National Harbor, Maryland. Attendees descended upon the hotel outside of Washington DC to participate in the four-day annual conference and hear from conservative speakers from around the world who range from journalists, U.S. lawmakers, international leaders and businessmen. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Homeland Security Department
“On Day One, I will launch the largest deportation program in American history to get the criminals out,” Trump said at his Madison Square Garden rally in October. “I will rescue every city and town that has been invaded and conquered, and we will put these vicious and bloodthirsty criminals in jail, then kick them the hell out of our country as fast as possible.”
“So in order to meet the goal of hiring 10,000 new agents – we need the agents,” Trump said of border patrol agents at a rally in October. “We have to. We need them badly. And keeping our incredible veteran agents on the force. Don't leave us. Raise your right hand. You're not going to leave. You're not going to leave. Don't leave us. I don't have to worry about that. They're very committed people. If we pay them nothing, they're not leaving. They want to save our country. They're going to save our country. But after I win, I will be asking Congress immediately to approve a 10% raise. Haven't had one in a long time, for all ages, and a $10,000 each retention and signing bonus.”
Treasury Department
“My Administration will restore Freedom, Strength, Resilience, and Efficiency to our Capital Markets. We will reinvigorate the Private Sector, and help curb the unsustainable path of Federal Debt,” Trump said in a statement announcing his pick for treasury secretary.
“Everybody knows what I'm going to do: cut taxes very substantially – and create a great economy like I did before,” Trump said at the September debate.
“We will target everything, from car affordability to housing affordability to insurance costs to supply chain issues,” Trump said at a rally in North Carolina in August. “I will instruct my Cabinet that I expect results within the first 100 days or much sooner than that.”
Justice Department
“For too long, the partisan Department of Justice has been weaponized against me and other Republicans – Not anymore,” Trump said in a social media post announcing his pick for attorney general.
“Every institution in America is under attack from this Marxist concept of ‘equity,’” Trump said last year about Biden’s executive order aimed at “further advancing racial equity and support for underserved communities through the federal government.” Trump pledged to “get this extremism out of the White House, out of the military, out of the Justice Department and out of our government.”
“I will instruct the Department of Justice to make clear that any such discrimination is completely and totally illegal, and to investigate the unlawful domination and discrimination and civil right abuses carried out by the Biden administration,” Trump added.