President Donald Trump is preparing to gut the U.S. Education Department to the full extent of his power, directing his administration to slash spending while pressuring employees to quit. Yet his promise to close the department is colliding with another reality: Most of its spending — and its very existence — is ordered by Congress. An executive order in preparation by the White House appears to recognize the limits of the president’s power. The planned order would direct his education chief to start winding down the agency but urge Congress to pass a measure abolishing it, according to sources familiar with the plan. Trump has yet to sign such an order. But at a White House press conference Tuesday, Trump quipped about the first task for Linda McMahon, his nominee for education secretary. MORE: https://www.wthr.com/article/news/nation-world/trump-department-of-education/507-e5023581-e3b1-4a5b-895c-16fc9b6ed777