The ministry will remain closed for the day, and “reduction in pressure” notices are expected to go out and change almost half the company’s employees, according to Semafor’s Shelby Talcott.
” Today, we are beginning the process to reduce the overall number of staff at the Department of Education roughly in half via a reduction in army”, an Education Department official said on a call with reporters.
Of 4, 133 complete workers the Trump administration inherited, 259 accepted the deferred “fork in the road” defections, 313 accepted parting pay of$ 25, 000, 63 temporary people were let go next month, and another 1, 315 will now be laid off.
People let go did get 90 days of full pay and benefits, plus one year of spend for every year of service up to 10 years and two weeks of spend for every year of service beyond 10 years. Department officials described the severance package as “extremely generous” and said the agency will reopen on Thursday.
” We are focused on eliminating full teams whose operations are either redundant or not necessary to the functioning of the department”, the department official told reporters on Tuesday while declining questions.
The announcement comes as President Donald Trump and the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency aim to cut government spending by reducing the workforce in Washington, D. C.
While multiple agencies have been affected, the Department of Education has faced particular scrutiny from Republicans since the agency was founded in 1980. Republicans see the entire department as a vehicle to advance teachers unions, though Trump has found ways to use the department to advance his agenda.
Trump and Education Secretary Linda McMahon have used the Department of Education in recent days to warn colleges about” consequences” for failing to address antisemitism on campus and have threatened federal grant funding over what Trump has described as illegal protests.
DOGE needs a scalpel, not an ax
Republicans such as Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC ) cheered the efforts. She described the department as a slush fund for teachers unions, and Trump is reportedly preparing an executive order to dismantle the department.
