The first year of Trump's second administration has marked a sharp departure from six decades of federal education policy. This policy brief examines how the administration has expanded executive authority over education while producing a patchwork of initiatives—expanding school choice, curbing campus activism, and reducing federal research capacity—without any coherent unifying vision. Central to these changes is a sweeping reinterpretation of Equal Protection and Title VI and IX, used both to roll back support for minoritized populations and to target perceived ideological content in schools. The resulting landscape leaves educational institutions facing funding uncertainty, legal exposure for inclusionary practices, and unprecedented executive influence over institutional decisions. Education leaders must actively cultivate local trust through participatory budgeting and stakeholder engagement to protect against ongoing federal pressure.