One day after U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon announced nearly half of the department’s workforce will be placed on administrative leave, Democratic lawmakers and education advocates are warning the action could jeopardize the future of public schooling.
The Department of Education normally employs nearly 4,150 people, but after Tuesday’s reduction in force, the workforce is set to shrink to 2,183 workers.
Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., accused the Trump administration of “robbing our students and teachers of the resources and support they need.”
“Students, families, and teachers in every part of the country will pay the price for Trump’s slash and burn campaign to destroy public education in America,” Murray said in a statement. “Fewer teachers, less accountability, less resources for students, and more chaos – it’s the last thing students and schools need, but it’s exactly what Trump is delivering.”
The department ensures compliance with Title IX and federal civil rights laws, collects school data, and oversees the massive federal student loan and grant programs for higher education, including Pell Grants and $1 trillion in outstanding FAFSA loans.
The department is also responsible for roughly 10% of the nation’s funding of public education, with the vast majority of funding coming from state and local taxes.
The Trump administration says the move is part of its effort to cut “bureaucratic bloat” and “woke ideology” across government agencies, saving taxpayers money in the process. The Education department’s budget in fiscal year 2024 totaled roughly $90 billion, and it spends about $2.8 billion annually for salaries and expenses. Supporters of the cuts also argue that the Education Department’s most important functions could be handled by other agencies.
Critics have called the workforce cuts “shameful,” “illegal,” and “ruinous.” They have questioned how the responsibilities of the department will continue if the agency continues to shrink or gets abolished by President Donald Trump, who has vowed to do so in the near future.
“Gutting ED from the inside by mass firing dedicated staff is nothing more than a shameful effort to throw political red meat to President Trump’s base – and students, borrowers, and families will pay the price,” said Student Borrower Protection Center’s Policy Director Aissa Canchola Bañez.
Because the Department of Education was created by an act of Congress and signed into law, abolishing the department will likely require more than an executive order from the president.
McMahon has assured critics the department would “continue to deliver on all statutory programs that fall under the agency’s purview, including formula funding, student loans, Pell Grants, funding for special needs students, and competitive grantmaking.”
