Republican lawmakers are set to introduce a bill on Wednesday that would strip the nation’s largest teachers union, the National Education Association (NEA), of its federal charter.
Rep. Mark Harris (R-NC) and Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) will introduce the National Education Association Charter Repeal Act, “aiming to sever the union from its congressional ties,” the Daily Caller first reported. The NEA was founded in 1857 and received its charter from Congress in 1906, but Republicans argue the nation’s largest labor union has abandoned its original mission to support America’s educators in favor of a radical left-wing agenda.
“From branding President Trump a fascist to embracing divisive gender ideology and walking away from efforts to fight antisemitism, the NEA has become nothing more than a partisan advocacy group,” Harris told the outlet. “Since the NEA is clearly not prioritizing students, parents or even teachers, it’s time to remove Congress’ seal of approval from this rogue organization.”
The federal charter established the union’s status as a nonprofit organization under federal law and acknowledged its mission and purpose.
Harris told the outlet the NEA has a “long list of egregious violations of public trust,” and pointed to an Open Secrets report revealing that 98 percent of NEA political donations went to Democrat candidates during the previous election cycle.
The NEA has also been in hot water for recently passing a resolution that “pledges to defend democracy against Trump’s embrace of fascism by using term facism [sic] in NEA materials to correctly characterize Donald Trump’s program and actions,” according to documents obtained by conservative education expert Corey A. DeAngelis.
I just received a copy of the National Education Association's resolutions that they passed at their annual convention.
— Corey A. DeAngelis, school choice evangelist (@DeAngelisCorey) July 7, 2025
They kept them private this year.
Blackburn said the union has shown repeatedly that they will “put their political agenda ahead of students’ needs.”
“The National Education Association has made it crystal clear it’s a partisan organization, and it shouldn’t be rewarded with a federal charter that platforms woke gender ideology, antisemitism, and left-wing propaganda. Our students deserve better,” Blackburn said.
According to Influence Watch, the NEA relies mostly on member dues rather than federal dollars. However, the bill would eliminate the NEA’s congressional ties, as well as certain property tax exemptions, per the Daily Caller report.
The NEA did not respond to the outlet’s request for comment by time of publication.
