55419d8d 7930 4bbc 967a 71c081af039b · 18 questions

Trump and McMahon advance Department of Education shutdown

Executive order and mass layoffs cut DOE workforce in half while states sue·May 13, 2025

President Trump signed an executive order on Mar. 20, 2025 titled "Improving Education Outcomes by Empowering Parents, States, and Communities," directing Education Secretary Linda McMahon to "take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure" of the Department of Education. McMahon immediately executed mass layoffs, cutting the workforce from 4,133 to about 2,200 employees.

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) introduced H.R. 899 on Jan. 31, 2025, a one-sentence bill to terminate the department by Dec. 31, 2026. The bill has 32 Republican cosponsors but remains in committee. McMahon's layoffs gutted the Office for Civil Rights, which lost nearly half its staff and seven of its 12 regional offices. A 21-state coalition led by New York and Massachusetts filed suit.

Key facts

President Trump signed an executive order on Mar. 20, 2025 directing Education Secretary Linda McMahon to 'take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure' of the Department of Education. The order cannot legally abolish the department, which requires Congressional approval, but authorized administrative dismantling.

Education Secretary Linda McMahon terminated roughly 1,300 workers through reduction-in-force in March 2025. Combined with about 600 employees who accepted voluntary buyouts, the workforce fell from 4,133 to approximately 2,200. McMahon called it 'the first step toward shuttering' the department.

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) introduced H.R. 899 on Jan. 31, 2025, a one-sentence bill stating: 'The Department of Education shall terminate on December 31, 2026.' The bill has 36 Republican cosponsors and remains in the House Education and Workforce Committee.

The Office for Civil Rights lost nearly half its staff and seven of its 12 regional offices. When Biden left office, OCR had 605 employees handling over 12,000 open discrimination investigations. Additional layoffs in October 2025 eliminated 465 more DOE positions across the agency.

A 21-state coalition led by New York AG Letitia James and Massachusetts AG Andrea Campbell filed suit challenging the dismantling. A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction blocking layoffs, but the Supreme Court lifted it on Jul. 14, 2025, allowing layoffs to proceed.

The department began transferring programs to other agencies in November 2025 through interagency agreements. Title I funding for low-income schools moved to the Department of Labor, fragmenting federal education authority and creating administrative uncertainty for school districts.

The DOE administers $82 billion in annual discretionary funding. Title I provides $18.6 billion to 26 million students in 90% of school districts. IDEA special education funding totals $15 billion but covers only 12% of actual special education costs.

Mississippi receives nearly $1 billion per year in federal education funding and has the highest Title I funding per pupil at $547. Louisiana would lose more than 12% of its teaching positions if Title I were eliminated. States receiving over 12% of K-12 revenue from federal sources lack the tax base to replace these funds.