The Department of Education announced that it was laying off half of its workforce on Tuesday, a move that Secretary of Education Linda McMahon called "the first step" toward completely dismantling the department.
A press release from the DOE said that nearly 2,000 employees of the department would be placed on administrative leave on March 21. The mass layoffs will leave the department with 2,183 employees, down from 4,133 at the beginning of President Donald Trump's term.
"Today’s reduction in force reflects the Department of Education’s commitment to efficiency, accountability, and ensuring that resources are directed where they matter most: to students, parents, and teachers,” McMahon shared in a statement. "I appreciate the work of the dedicated public servants and their contributions to the Department. This is a significant step toward restoring the greatness of the United States education system.”
The department head struck a much harsher tone while speaking on Fox News Tuesday night. McMahon agreed with host Laura Ingraham that the layoffs were an opening salvo in the Trump administration's attempts to shutter the department and called the soon-to-be jobless employees as "bureaucratic bloat."
"The president's mandate as directed to me clearly is to shut down the Department of Education," she said. "We'll have to work with Congress to get that accomplished."
Ingraham: Is this the first step on the road to a total shutdown?
— Acyn (@Acyn) March 11, 2025
McMahon: Yes. That was the president’s mandate as directed to me… to shut down the Department of Education… pic.twitter.com/cwEJpJAhiC
The shocking move to cut the Department of Education in half drew immediate condemnation from elected Democrats.
"The president is letting unelected billionaires like Elon Musk and Linda McMahon eliminate the Department of Education," Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., shared on X. "Taking away opportunities from students in low-income or rural schools in order to give massive tax breaks to the wealthy is wrong."
Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, said the Trump administration was "stealing from our children to pay for tax cuts for billionaires," a sentiment that Bill Clinton Cabinet member Robert Reich agreed with.
"As Trump guts the Department of Education, remember that his plan to cut the corporate tax rate to 15% would give the 100 largest corporations a tax cut larger than the entire department's K-12 budget," Reich wrote on X. "Really think about how twisted this all is."
