Poll Comes as Trump Continues Unconstitutional Authoritarian Takeover of Federal Agencies and Prepares to Take Executive Action to Dismantle Department of Education
February 4, 2025 | WASHINGTON, D.C. — A new poll shows a majority of likely voters oppose President Trump’s plans to issue an executive order to abolish the U.S. Department of Education. The poll—one of the first polls conducted since Trump was sworn in and the first to ask voters about this executive action—shows that likely voters oppose this effort by nearly a two-to-one margin. The poll, conducted by Data for Progress on behalf of the Student Borrower Protection Center and Groundwork Collaborative highlights that voters oppose Trump’s proposal across age, gender, race, and educational status.
“Voters put President Trump back into office to lower the cost of living and stand up for working people,” said Mike Pierce, executive director of the Student Borrower Protection Center. “Instead, President Trump has spent his first weeks burning political capital and pissing off voters from coast to coast: raising the cost of basic necessities, handing power over to billionaire oligarchs like Elon Musk, and pushing wildly unpopular executive actions like the rumored plan to abolish the U.S. Department of Education.”
The survey was conducted among 1,294 likely voters between January 31-February 2, 2025.
![Polling data showing A Majority of Voters Across Age and Education Lines Oppose an Executive Action to Abolish the U.S. Department of Education. January 31 to February 2, 2025 survey of 1,294 U.S. likely voters. [Groundwork Collaborative logo] [Data for Progress logo] [Student Borrower Protection Center logo]](https://protectborrowers.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/DfP-SBPC-GC-Poll-on-Executive-Action-to-Abolish-ED_02-2025-1200x694.png)
Background
Since taking office, President Trump has wreaked havoc and sparked mass confusion among working families all over our country. Despite voters demanding action to bring down everyday costs, President Trump has signed nearly 100 executive orders and taken actions attempting to freeze critical federal funding, including funds that help keep children and seniors fed, and roll back diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives across the government.
Now, President Trump is reportedly finalizing plans to enact an executive order to dismantle the Department of Education. The action would be the most recent right-wing policy taken directly from the Project 2025 agenda and would cause even more chaos for millions of students and families trying to figure out how they will pay for college and the millions of working families struggling to repay their monthly student loan bills.
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About Student Borrower Protection Center
Student Borrower Protection Center (SBPC) is a nonprofit organization focused on eliminating the burden of student debt for millions of Americans. We engage in advocacy, policymaking, and litigation strategy to rein in industry abuses, protect borrowers’ rights, and advance racial and economic justice.
Learn more at protectborrowers.org or follow SBPC on Twitter @theSBPC.