A Merger of the Education and Labor Departments? 4 Questions Answered

The U.S. Department of Education opened in 1980 under President Jimmy Carter. Since then, several efforts to reorganize or shut the department down failed. Now, President Donald Trump wants to merge the U.S. Department of Education and the Labor Department into a single new agency—to be called the Department of Education and the Workforce, intending to improve efficiency and accountability of the executive branch. Merging two departments with very different missions and responsibilites is likely to present a host of logistical challenges, but also has many concerned that the department’s core mission could get lost.