President Donald Trump is preparing to gut the U.S. Education Department to the full extent of his power, directing his administration to slash spending while pressuring employees to quit

Trump drafts order to begin dismantling the Department of Education, seeking executive and congressional action to eliminate it. Follow Newsweek's live blog.

The Trump administration is hoping to drastically shrink the Education Department, using an executive order now in the works. The order — as described by three people briefed on its contents, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss internal issues — would seek a plan for Congress to abolish the department altogether,

A White House official told USA TODAY that Trump plans to fulfill a campaign promise by reevaluating the future of the agency. That effort includes defunding it, according to Reuters. On the campaign trail,

An executive order — which President Donald Trump is expected to sign sometime this month — was expected to lay out a two-part strategy for shuttering the agency.

U.S. President Donald Trump's administration will take steps to defund the federal Education Department, a White House official said on Monday, adding an announcement on the planned actions may come later in February.