RILEY GAINES: Trump did right thing with DOE cuts, now Congress needs to get in the game

Here's what happened: The Court lifted a lower court's block on Trump's executive order, which directed Secretary of Education Linda McMahon to start shutting the department down and returning control of education to the states. Essential services would stay intact. But the bloated bureaucracy? That's on the chopping block.

And it should be. For years, the Department of Education has acted less like a support system and more like a control center. With around 4,000 employees, its main tasks have included writing regulations, managing student loans, and overseeing grants. Even its PR office has 89 staffers and costs taxpayers over $10 million a year. A quick number crunch shows a pretty glamorous salary for a not-so-glamorous job. That money's not going to raise reading scores or teach kids about the Constitution, that's for sure.

But this is about more than just bureaucracy. It's about values.

For years, the DOE has pushed a radical agenda on schools across the country. In 2016, it sent a "Dear Colleague" letter to school districts, threatening to pull funding unless they allowed boys into girls' locker rooms, bathrooms, and sports teams. This wasn't about safety or fairness; it was about forcing schools to comply with a social ideology most parents never agreed to.

None of these decisions came from Congress. They were mandates from unelected bureaucrats, better known as people you didn't vote for and can't hold accountable. That's not how a constitutional republic is supposed to work.

Now, thanks to the Supreme Court, the door is open to real reform. Congress has the power to finish the job and eliminate the DOE for good. These layoffs are just the first move toward dismantling a department that has prioritized politics over education for far too long.

For years, bureaucrats in D.C. have decided what our kids learn, what values they're taught, and who's allowed to speak up in the classroom. That chapter is closing. Now it's time to restore education to the people it actually affects: families, teachers, and local leaders.

Our kids and, in turn, the future of America deserve nothing less.