Washington (AP) – Education Department The plan is to fire more than 1,300 employees as part of an effort to cut the organization’s staff by halving it. Dismantling the agent.
Department officials announced the cuts on Tuesday, raising questions about the agency’s continued capabilities. Normal operation.
The Trump administration had already cut down agency staff despite the offer to buy and the termination of probation employees. After Tuesday’s layoffs, education department staff will sit in about half of the previous 4,100, the agency said.
The layoffs are part of Dramatic downsizing Trump overseen as he moved to reduce his federal footprint. Thousands of jobs are expected to be cut Veterans Affairs Bureau, Social Security Bureau Other institutions.
The department is also closing leases for buildings in cities such as New York, Boston, Chicago and Cleveland, officials said.
Department officials said they will continue to provide key features such as distribution of federal aid to schools, student loan management and monitoring PELL grants.
“Today’s power cuts reflect the Department of Education’s efficiency, accountability and ensuring they are directed to where they matter most – for students, parents and teachers.”
In a memo issued March 3, McMahon told employees to pretend for deep cuts. Confirmed by the Senate. She said that eliminating bureaucratic bloat and handing over authority of government agencies to the state is the “final mission” of the department.
The department emailed employees Tuesday, informing them that Washington headquarters and local offices were closed Wednesday and access was prohibited before reopening Thursday. The only reason given to the closure was an unspecified “security reason”.
Trump campaigned on the promise to close the department, saying he was overtaken by “extremists, enthusiasts and Marxists.” At McMahon’s Confirmation hearingshe acknowledged that only Congress has the authority to abolish the institutions, but said that there may be a deadline for reductions and reorganizations.
It is yet to be seen whether the cuts will be felt by American students, as Democrats and advocates fear. Already there are concerns that the administration’s agenda has pushed aside some of the institution’s most basic tasks, including civil rights enforcement. Students with disabilities $1.6 trillion management of federal student loans.
McMahon told lawmakers at her hearing that her goal was not to refund the core program, but to make it more efficient.
Even before the layoffs, the education department was the smallest cabinet-level agency. According to the department’s website, its workforce included 3,100 additional Washington employees and 1,100 additional employees in regional offices nationwide.
Department workers have faced increased pressure to quit their jobs since Trump took office, through the resignation program, which was originally postponed, and then through a $25,000 acquisition offer that expired on March 3. The buyout offer received warnings that “there is a significant layoff in the near future.”
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