Education Department Cuts Nearly Half Its Workforce Ahead of Closure Order

Education Secretary Linda McMahon announced a reduction in force terminating roughly 1,300 employees and accepting buyouts from about 600 more, cutting the department from 4,133 to roughly 2,183 staff. The cuts hit the Office for Civil Rights, the Institute of Education Sciences, and Federal Student Aid, which manages a $1.7 trillion loan portfolio. The layoffs preceded Trump's Executive Order 14242 by nine days.