The ongoing federal government shutdown is advancing President Donald Trump’s goal of closing the Department of Education, a move that has been sought by conservatives for decades but never achieved through Congress.
Earlier this year, the department cut its staff by half. Now, The Washington Post reported that with the prolonged shutdown, the administration wants to lay off another 465 employees, including those overseeing special education and civil rights enforcement, effectively hollowing out major offices.
"There’s something opportunistic about what we’re watching right now," said Jim Blew, a former senior Education Department official under Trump. "These guys have very clear goals. When you give them an opportunity to achieve them, they go full bore."
A federal judge temporarily halted the layoffs, but they follow months of reductions and cancellations. Numerous grant programs were delayed or eliminated, and some department functions have been shifted to other agencies, reflecting a broader reorganization effort.
Trump has repeatedly vowed to eliminate the department. However Education Secretary Linda McMahon has acknowledged that only Congress can formally do so.
Critics argue the administration is attempting to dismantle the agency through attrition. They warn that the department can no longer carry out its core responsibilities with so few staff, particularly in enforcing special education and civil rights laws.
McMahon has framed the changes as a reassessment of federal priorities during the shutdown. "Two weeks in, millions of American students are still going to school, teachers are getting paid, and schools are operating as normal," she posted on X. "It confirms what the President has said: the federal Department of Education is unnecessary."
"The fact that Trump is gleefully using the shutdown as a pretext to hurt students is appalling," said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Kenneth L. Marcus, who once led the Office of Civil Rights, said the downsizing fits a broader effort to shift its functions elsewhere. "This action seems to make most sense as part of a broader process that would include closure of the Department of Education and transfer of OCR functions to the Department of Justice," he said.
"Many of us who are familiar with the statutes didn’t think they could get as far as they have on that," said Frederick M. Hess of the American Enterprise Institute. He added that the cuts were "far more radical than many thought they could get away with" and that Trump’s team "downsized it far more than I think many of us thought would be feasible."
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Jim Mishler ✉
Jim Mishler, a seasoned reporter, anchor and news director, has decades of experience covering crime, politics and environmental issues.
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