In the first Republican presidential debate of the 2024 election cycle, four of the candidates called for the elimination of the U.S. Department of Education, while three also vowed to crush teacher unions.
Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida, Vivek Ramaswamy, Governor Doug Burgum of North Dakota, and Vice President Mike Pence all said that, if elected, they would eliminate the federal Department of Education. Ramaswamy, former Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey, and Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina also threatened the teacher unions, with Scott saying, “The only way we change education in this nation is to break the backs of the teachers unions.”
