The Guardian - The US education department said on Tuesday it would lay off nearly half its staff, a possible precursor to closing altogether, as government agencies scrambled to meet president Donald Trump’s deadline to submit plans for a second round of mass layoffs.
The terminations are part of the department’s “final mission,” it said in a press release, alluding to Trump’s vow to eliminate the department, which oversees $1.6tn in college loans, enforces civil rights laws in schools and provides federal funding for needy districts.
Asked on Fox News whether the firings would lead to the department’s dismantling, secretary of education Linda McMahon said “yes,” adding that doing so “was the president’s mandate.” The layoffs would leave the department with 2,183 workers, down from 4,133 when Trump took office in January, reports Reuters.
Before announcing the layoffs, the agency ordered offices in the Washington area closed to staff from Tuesday evening through Wednesday, according to an internal notice seen by Reuters.
MSNBC - The department in its modern form was established by Congress in 1979 to level up access to education, to help working families pay for college, to boost student achievement and to pave pathways to good middle-class jobs.
According to its 2025 fiscal year budget summary, department grants help close to 26 million children from poor families get extra support to reach their full potential.
It helps meet the individual needs of around 7.5 million children with disabilities. It provided tens of millions to help the over 5 million English learners in U.S. classrooms improve their proficiency and assimilate into our communities. And it provided nearly 9 million students with the financial aid they need to attend college or trade programs, including work-study programs.
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