SALT LAKE CITY — Utah agency heads are taking a "wait-and-see" approach to a federal government reorganization proposed by President Donald Trump Thursday.

But the leader of the nation's largest teacher union, who is a former Utahn, called the Trump administration's announcement an attempt to distract the nation from the ongoing humanitarian crisis on the U.S.-Mexico border.

NEA President Lily Eskelsen Garcia, a former president of the Utah Education Association, said the plans "are at best ill-conceived and poorly timed and at worst are an attempt to distract the American public from the humanitarian crisis he created along the U.S.-Mexico border."

One significant change under the proposal would be a merger of the departments of Education and Labor, creating a new Department of Education and the Workforce.

The Department of Health and Human Services would be renamed the Department of Health and Public Welfare and oversee non-commodity nutrition assistance programs currently under the Department of Agriculture.

Many of the proposed changes would require congressional approval.

“We are watching to see what Congress and the White House will choose to do next, and in the meantime, we remain focused on serving our customers. We already collaborate with the Utah State Board of Education and our higher education partners on many programs that help create a well-educated and trained workforce here in Utah," said Nate McDonald, assistant deputy director of the Utah Department of Workforce Services.

Mark Peterson, spokesman for the State Board of Education, said the board is monitoring developments, but "at this point we don’t see that this will have negative impact on federal funding for public schools in Utah."

According to the administration’s proposal, the Department of Education and the Workforce "would be charged with meeting the needs of American students and workers, from education and skill development to workplace protection to retirement security."

Merging the two departments "would allow the federal government to address the educational and skill needs of American students and workers in a coordinated way, eliminating duplication of efforts between the two agencies and maximizing the effectiveness of skill-building efforts," the plan states.

McDonald said Workforce Services welcomes opportunities to streamline processes and reduce duplication of efforts.

"As a state, we often lead the nation in efficiency and cross-agency collaboration. For example, Utahns can walk into a Workforce Services employment center and find unemployment insurance, financial assistance, food stamps, Medicaid, training assistance, job search assistance and preparation, child care assistance and services for people with disabilities, as well as access to many community partners, all under one roof,” McDonald said.

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The Utah Education Association had no immediate comment but referred reporters to its national association.

Eskelsen Garcia, in a prepared statement, said, "The public outcry over the Trump administration's inhumane policy to separate children and families seeking protection is unequivocal. The Trump administration should focus on fixing this problem, stop traumatizing children, instead of manufacturing distractions. Trump needs to get serious about governing and about addressing the real pressing matters facing our country."

In addition to announcing the federal agency restructuring, Trump held a working lunch with eight governors on Thursday, including Utah Gov. Gary Herbert.

A media pool report on the exchange with the governors noted a back-and-forth exchange of praise and an emphasis on the administration's favorable view of states' rights.

Herbert, according to the report, lauded the administration for its willingness to work with states.

"Your administration, much better than the previous administration, has reached out to states … and you (give) much more responsibility back into the states," Herbert said. "That is, I think, a secret for the continued success of this country.”

The governors talked with Trump on the amount of federal land ownership in Western states.

According to Herbert's spokesman, Paul Edwards, “the roundtable discussion covered a number of issues relevant to the states’ governments. Gov. Herbert emphasized the vital role states play in our federal system."

Idaho Gov. Butch Otter, also a Republican, noted 65 percent of his state is federally owned. That type of land ownership puts states at odds with the federal government, but Otter noted that the mood has changed.

He said he's had more Cabinet member visits than any time he can remember in his years in state government and Congress.

"Your folks have been fantastic. In fact, they govern more of Idaho than I do."

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