Breaking this hour, President Donald Trump is set to sign an executive order on Thursday, directing Department of Education Secretary Linda McMahon to begin the process of shutting down the department. This comes via an exclusive scoop by USA Today, and reports at numerous outlets:

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump is set to sign a long-anticipated executive order Thursday that seeks to eliminate the U.S. Department of Education, delivering on a signature campaign promise to try to dismantle the agency, according to senior Trump administration officials.

Trump is expected to sign the order, which has been in the works for weeks, at a White House ceremony attended by several Republican governors and state education commissioners.

The Education Department (ED) has already started to reduce the workforce, along with fraud, waste, and abuse, but this executive order will direct Sec. McMahon to go further:

Trump will direct his education secretary, Linda McMahon, to take "all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return education authority to the States," according to a White House summary of the order reviewed by USA TODAY. It also calls for the "uninterrupted delivery of services, programs, and benefits on which Americans rely."

The USA Today report continues with a statement by Harrison Fields, who said the EO "will empower parents, states, and communities to take control and improve outcomes for all students,” adding that the latest National Assessment of Educational Progress exam test results "reveal a national crisis ‒ our children are falling behind."

As this is a breaking story, RedState will provide more details as they become available.