The United States Department of Education is preparing to reduce its workforce significantly by releasing over 1,300 of its more than 4,000 employees. This move is considered a preliminary step toward President Donald Trump’s broader strategy to possibly dismantle or at least substantially scale back the agency. Announced on Tuesday, these layoffs have sparked discussions regarding how the department’s usual operations might continue in the absence of a large portion of its staff.
The reduction in workforce is in line with Trump’s wider initiative to curtail the overall size of the federal government. Similar job cuts are anticipated across other federal agencies, including the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Social Security Administration. In addition to the staff reductions, the Education Department is terminating leases on office buildings in major cities such as New York, Boston, Chicago, and Cleveland. Rachel Oglesby, who serves as the department’s chief of staff, assured that these changes would not hinder the Office for Civil Rights or interfere with Congress-mandated tasks like distributing federal aid to schools.
Upon her Senate confirmation on March 3, Education Secretary Linda McMahon informed department employees of the impending cuts through an internal memo. She emphasized that the department’s ultimate goal is to reduce excessive bureaucracy and gradually transfer its responsibilities to state authorities. The department communicated to its personnel via email that all offices, both in Washington headquarters and regional branches, would be temporarily closed on Wednesday for unspecified “security reasons,” resuming normal functions the next day.
President Trump, during his campaign, suggested shutting down the Department of Education, criticizing it as being dominated by “radicals, zealots, and Marxists.” While Secretary McMahon recognized at her confirmation hearing that abolishing the agency outright requires Congressional approval, she hinted that significant restructuring and budget cuts could be appropriate.
Concerns are mounting among Democrats and advocates worried that the proposed cuts could impact essential services delivered to America’s students, particularly in areas like civil rights enforcement for students with disabilities and the administration of federal student loans, which amount to $1.6 trillion. Nonetheless, McMahon assured lawmakers that while efficiencies would be sought, the core programs would not be defunded.
Ahead of announcing these staff reductions, the Department of Education was already one of the smaller Cabinet-level agencies, consisting of approximately 3,100 employees stationed in Washington, along with 1,100 at various regional offices nationwide. Since the start of Trump’s administration, department employees have experienced increased pressure to resign, initially through a deferred resignation program followed by a $25,000 buyout offer, which ended on March 3, hinting at impending layoffs.
