President Trump signed the order in the East Room of the White House, which was filled with nervous children.
Listen to this article · 4:33 mins. Learn more
- Share the full article
President Trump signed an executive order Thursday to cut the size of the Department of Education in Washington.
It seemed the president just needed a little reassurance.
He was in the East Room of the White House, which was filled with nervous children, conservative activists, power brokers, and six Republican governors from Florida, Texas, Virginia, Indiana, Ohio, and Iowa. All had come to watch him sign an order gutting the Education Department, something conservatives had dreamed of for decades. No other president had done it, not even this one, when he was first in office.
Now he's back, and there it is, the order, lying on a small table at the front of this grand room, waiting to be signed.
Around his desk were many other small tables, the kind you sit at in elementary school. Children of all ages, dressed in school uniforms, sat with their feet dangling under their desks. They looked expectantly as Mr. Trump approached.
He turned to one little boy and said, “Should I do it?” The boy nodded eagerly. The President turned and looked at a young girl. “Should I do it?” he asked. She nodded, too.
Inspired, he sat down, pulled out his pen and scribbled something. The governors, the children and their parents burst into applause.
In some ways, signing the order Thursday was typical of Mr. Trump. Whether he is releasing files related to the assassination of John F. Kennedy, purging the Kennedy Center board to install himself as its head, or carving up the Education Department, this is a president who prides himself on doing what no other would dare.
We are having trouble retrieving the article content.
Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.
Thank you for your patience while we check access. If you are in Reading Mode, please sign out and sign in to your Times account or subscribe to all of The Times.
Thank you for your patience while we check access.
Already a subscriber? Log in.
Want to receive every issue of The Times? Subscribe.
SKIP ADVERTISEMENT
Source: Source
