The United States Secretary of Education, Linda McMahon, has announced that 1,300 jobs will be cut from the Department of Education. These job cuts are in addition to 600 people who have recently retired or resigned. The cuts represent 50% of the total DoE workforce. McMahon says this is a fulfilment of a directive coming directly from President Donald Trump. The objective is to slim down the department then eventually close it completely. Essential functions of the DoE, such as student loans and Pell Grants, may be moved to the Department of the Treasury after the closure of DoE.
There are, of course, fierce reactions the announcement of mass Department of Education layoffs. American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten has spoken out on television news shows about this, stating that the administration does not particularly care about this nation’s children. Minnesota Governor and former VP pick for Kamala Harris, Tim Walz, rattled off a bunch of talking points about egg prices and other things in an attempt to attack President Trump over the layoffs. Not many people, however, stated why the cuts would actually be bad and how they would affect regular, everyday people.
SOURCES:
Parents, teachers and more react to Education Department layoffs : NPR
What will the layoffs at the Education Department mean for students?
Education Dept ‘dissolved’ entire units in mass layoffs. Employees take stock of what’s left
Trump, Education Department sued by 20 blue state AGs over recent workforce cuts | Fox News
Mass Layoffs Slash Dept. of Education’s Civil Rights Division — ProPublica
Student loans website down after Education Department layoffs | AP News
How Education Department layoffs could impact students with disabilities
