The White House announced a plan on Thursday to combine the Department of Education with the Department of Labor in a joint entity called the Department of Education and the Workforce.
In a release, the Office of Management and Budget said the proposal would “allow the Federal government to address the educational and skill needs of American students and workers in a coordinated way, eliminating duplication of effort.”
It’s unclear whether the restructuring will make it through Congress, which must approve the plan. Republicans have sought similar measures, unsuccessfully, at least twice since Congress established the department in 1980.
The trade publication Education Week reported on Wednesday that the change was expected.
Trump announced his plans to shake up the structure of the government shortly after assuming office, in a March executive order titled the “Comprehensive Plan for Reorganizing the Executive Branch.”
That order called on the Office of Management and Budget to report whether “some or all of the functions of an agency, a component, or a program are redundant, including with those of another agency, component, or program.”
The education department is one of the smallest government agencies, employing about 4,000 people. It has a budget of $70 billion.
