The Department of Education announced Tuesday that it had fired almost half of its workforce. This has been the latest move by the Trump administration to reduce the federal government, which could face rapid legal challenges.
A senior department official said 1,315 staff members have been let go and will receive notifications on Tuesday.
The Education Department began President Trump's second term with more than 4,000 employees, but even before Tuesday, hundreds had already been on leave or had been offered to acquire.
After the cuts, 2,183 employees were left in the department, and Trump called out the shutters completely.
The official said the reduction in employee cuts would not affect student aid, free applications for federal student aid forms, official funding to the state, operation of students with disabilities, civil rights investigations or statutory duties from Congress.
The department focused the layoffs on reductive or unnecessary teams, they said.
“Every part of the department is affected in some way, but this is primarily an internally facing rule rationalization effort, rather than an externally facing role,” the official said, providing examples such as finding six separate strategic communication functions in the various offices that are integrated.
The announcement comes after the office was closed Wednesday due to “security reasons” after the federal agency told staff to leave the office by 6pm Tuesday.
Officials said the decision has been made to keep the remaining employees safe and laid-off employees are scheduled to come by March 21 to collect items.
A complete abolition of Congress could not happen without Congressional acts, but this is unlikely to be caused by the 60-vote threshold required to overcome the filibuster in the Senate, but Secretary of Administration and Education Linda McMahon could make changes to weaken it significantly.
On the day she was confirmed, McMahon sent staff a “final mission” memo to warn them of important department layoffs and changes, saying “by removing deficits and bureaucratic barriers, parents can make the best educational choices for their children.”
Now the fight could move to how small the department can be before the court says it is blocking mandated requirements from Congress.
“I think the President also has the authority to hire and fire people within the budget. So, he can't hire a lot of people who don't have the money, but I think he can fire people even if he pays them. Conceptually, I think the restrictions were violating the constitution if he fired so many people who couldn't do the work that Congress gave him,” Neil McCrusky, director of the Cato Institute's Center for Education Freedom, told Hill previously.
Supporters were already preparing to fight to maintain the department through litigation and civic action when reports came that Trump was about to sign an executive order directing the dismantling of federal agencies but cancelled plans.
“They're the first to be able to take part in education,” said Julie Margheta Morgan, former acting secretary of education during the Biden administration. “I think another thing to think about here is that the decision to dismantle the Department of Education is very unpopular and people need to continue to express their concern about it, express their dissatisfaction with the Trump administration's efforts, and hold policymakers accountable.”
Updated at 6:16pm
