The United States Department of Education was born as a political payoff by then-president Jimmy Carter to reward teachers’ unions for supporting his candidacy. While it doesn’t operate any schools or educate any children, the funding and rules administered by this meddlesome federal bureaucracy allow federal politicians to limit educational experimentation and variety at the state and local level. That, in turn, has spurred an exodus from American public schools. President Donald Trump has promised to kill the department and it’s a promise he needs to keep.