Sen. Mike Rounds, a Republican from South Dakota, unveiled a proposal in the Senate on Thursday aimed at abolishing the U.S. Department of Education. This initiative aligns with the stance of President-elect Donald Trump, who has previously advocated for shutting down the agency if he were to win back the presidency, as noted in a statement from Rounds’ office.

“Local control is key when it comes to education,” Rounds emphasized in his statement. “Local school boards and state education departments are better positioned to understand their students’ needs than unelected officials in Washington, D.C.”

The proposed Returning Education to Our States Act would transfer the responsibilities of the Education Department to other federal agencies.

What prompted Sen. Rounds to propose this bill?

The introduction of this legislation follows President-elect Donald Trump’s campaign promise to eliminate the federal agency. Throughout his campaign, Trump consistently expressed his intention to “close” the Education Department should he regain the presidency.

“We want federal education funds to follow the student, rather than support a large and radical bureaucracy in Washington, D.C.,” Trump stated in October. “We aim to shut down the federal Department of Education.”

Rounds mentioned in his statement on Thursday that he has been advocating for the elimination of the federal agency for years.

Established in 1979 and beginning operations the following year, the U.S. Department of Education now performs many functions and allocates billions to assist low-income public schools and to help numerous Americans with college expenses annually.

The South Dakota senator criticized the federal agency as having “expanded into an oversized bureaucracy.” He also questioned the size of the agency’s budget and its spending per student, especially in light of declining standardized test scores.

What’s next for the proposed bill?

Efforts to abolish the Education Department have been made in past legislative sessions.

However, the Rounds proposal is unlikely to progress this session since Democrats, who oppose the department’s elimination, hold the majority in both the Senate and the White House. A reintroduction of the bill in the next session may be possible but would require 60 votes to pass through the Senate.

Attempting to disband the agency in the next term would likely need support from Democrats, who are strongly against the proposal. Additionally, some Republicans believe that the Department of Education should remain intact to fulfill Trump’s policy objectives.