EDUCATION/LABOR/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The White House proposed a sweeping government reorganization Thursday [6-21-18] that would sharpen the focus on workforce training, consolidate government-assistance programs and shrink federal agencies. The plan, which would require approval from Congress, prompted immediate rebukes from Democrats and tentative responses from Republicans. It is unlikely Congress would move to enact far-reaching and much-debated changes as the November midterm elections approach, congressional aides said. Still, the plan was an opportunity for the Trump administration to make its case for a longtime conservative goal. It is the product of a monthslong review—led by Mick Mulvaney, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget—looking for ways to shrink the government’s footprint. At the center of the plan is a full merger of the Education and Labor Departments into a new Department of Education and the Workforce, a nod toward the administration’s goal of refocusing education programs to incorporate more direct job training. The plan would consolidate the government’s higher-education programs, including student aid, with workforce-development programs. Most other operations of the two departments would remain separate, but under one roof, including a division focused on K-12 education and another that combines multiple Labor entities, including the Occupation Safety and Health Administration and Wage and Hour Division, into a single enforcement agency.”
-Michelle Hackman, “Trump Proposes Combining Workforce Training, Welfare Programs in Agency Revamp,” The Wall Street Journal, June 21, 2018 4:20 pm