'It's a mess': Governor Tony Evers on Trump's executive order to dismantle Department of Education

RACINE, Wis. (CBS 58) -- President Donald Trump will sign an executive order to begin dismantling the Department of Education on Thursday, March.20, according to CBS News. 

The signing has been in the works for weeks and will be marked by an event at the White House in which several Republican governors, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, are expected to attend.

"President Trump's executive order to expand educational opportunities will empower parents, states, and communities to take control and improve outcomes for all students," White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said in a statement Wednesday.

Current and former teachers, including Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers, who previously served as state superintendent, have slammed the move. On Thursday, while visiting a veteran service organization in Racine, he said what's to come under the current administration will be "a clown show."

“It’s going to be a mess, it’s going to be a clown show for months, I’m disappointed," Evers said. “I hope at some point in time, Congress will actually act as they’re the ones that pass these bills to begin with. They’re the ones that approve the money."

As Gov. Evers suggested, completely eliminating the department would require congressional approval, which isn't certain.

Back in February, Gov. Evers and Attorney General Josh Kaul joined 21 other states in a lawsuit against the Trump administration over funding cuts to medical and public health research.

Evers says the lawsuits across the country will continue as President Trump continues his trend of signing executive orders without congressional approval of specific changes within the federal government.

“The idea that you walk into an office one day and the richest guy in the world says well half these people are gone tomorrow. Who operates that way? That’s just insane," Evers said. “I’m guessing the President thinks that people will give up and say here we are. We’re not going to give up, and we're going to continue to fight this fight moving forward.”

A senior administration official said student loans, Title I, which provides financial assistance to school districts for children from low-income families, and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act will not be changed by the executive order.

A White House official said Thursday that services like student loans, IDEA enforcement, and enforcement of civil rights laws would remain at the Education Department for now, but they will eventually be transferred to other departments, including the Treasury, Justice, and Health and Human Services Departments, among others, when the Department of Education is closed.

President Trump has previously said student loans could be "brought into either Treasury or Small Business Administration or Commerce."