President Donald Trump's plan to dismantle the Department of Education just suffered a big blow in the Senate. It keeps the administration of important landmark education programs at the Department of Education, where Congress specifically put them and where they belong.” The Department of Education primarily exists to ensure Americans have an equal right to education, and serves a number of important civil rights functions. Far-right activists have wanted to dismantle it ever since its creation in 1979. Since Trump took office, Secretary Linda McMahon has done everything in her power to offload key responsibilities of the Education Department to other agencies, including its critically important civil rights division.