President Trump today signed an executive order to begin dismantling the Education Department. The president, flanked by children at school desks, said that his administration would “take all lawful steps to shut down the department,” adding: “It’s doing us no good.” The administration has cited poor test scores as a justification.

Whether the department’s elimination will come to pass is unclear. Congress created the agency, and only Congress has the power to dismantle it.

The order further weakens the agency after Trump slashed its work force by almost half, gutted its civil rights division and laid off research employees. Though, the department will retain a few critical functions, including student loan and grant distribution, special education funding and civil rights enforcement, the administration said.

Education leaders and advocacy groups have condemned the move. “This is a dark day for the millions of American children who depend on federal funding for a quality education,” said Derrick Johnson, president of the N.A.A.C.P.

Trump has framed the agency’s demise as a way to hand over education decisions to the states, but the Education Department doesn’t control local learning standards or reading lists. And the bulk of K-12 funding comes from state and local taxes.

In his speech today, Trump suggested he might push Congress for a vote on the issue, where Republicans could be faced with a predicament: please Trump or their constituents. Recent polls show that nearly two-thirds of voters oppose the department’s closure.