President Donald Trump’s administration dismissed roughly half of the workers at the Department of Education on Tuesday, a move which followed Trump’s repeated vows to entirely abolish the agency.
A release from the Department of Education said that a “reduction in force” would place nearly 50 percent of staffers on administrative leave starting on March 21.
“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,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon said 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 dismissals were described as part of the agency’s “final mission.”
Every division at the Department of Education will be “impacted by the reduction, with some divisions requiring significant reorganization,” per the release.
But the agency will continue delivering student loan services, Pell Grants, competitive grantmaking, and other statutory programs.
When Trump took office, there were some 4,133 workers at the Department of Education.
But the size of the staff fell to 2,183 workers as of Tuesday.
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That decrease includes almost 600 employees who “accepted voluntary resignation opportunities and retirement over the last seven weeks.”
“Pursuant to regulatory requirements and the Department’s collective bargaining agreement, all impacted employees will receive full pay and benefits until June 9th, as well as substantial severance pay or retirement benefits based upon their length of service,” the release added.
Trump repeatedly vowed on the campaign trail to abolish the Department of Education, which has been a Republican policy goal for decades.
“I want to close up Department of Education, move education back to the states,” Trump said in August, per Fox News.
Trump predicted that most of the states would flourish under the move.
“Of the 50 [states], I would bet that 35 would do great,” he said. “And 15 of them or, you know, 20 of them will be as good as Norway. You know, Norway is considered great.”
McMahon confirmed in an interview that the layoffs are the first step toward completely abolishing the agency, according to CNN.
“[A]ctually it is, because that was the president’s mandate as directed to me clearly is to shut down the Department of Education,” she explained.
She said that the layoffs on Tuesday were meant to eliminate “bureaucratic bloat.”
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