Education Department lays off nearly 50% of its staff: What to know

WASHINGTON - The Education Department is laying off nearly 50% of its staff amid President Donald Trump’s plan to dismantle the agency.

Department officials announced the cuts on Tuesday, which raised questions about the agency’s ability to continue usual operations.

Here’s what to know:

Education Department lays off nearly 50% of its staff

What we know:

The U.S. Department of Education on Tuesday announced the cuts, impacting more than 1,300 of its employees. Included in the cutting of staff are nearly 600 employees who accepted the voluntary resignation offer and retirement over the last seven weeks, the agency said. The Education Department’s staff will now sit at roughly half of its previous 4,100.

Big picture view:

The layoffs are part of a dramatic downsizing directed by Trump as he moves to reduce the footprint of the federal government. Thousands of jobs are expected to be cut across the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Social Security Administration and other agencies. 

Prior to the announced layoffs, the Trump administration had already begun cutting the Education Department’s staff through buyout offers and the termination of probationary employees. The department is also terminating leases on buildings in cities including New York, Boston, Chicago and Cleveland, officials said.

In a memo issued on March 3, Education Secretary Linda McMahon told employees to brace for profound cuts. She said it was the department’s "final mission" to eliminate bureaucratic bloat and turn over the agency’s authority to states.

United States Secretary of Education Linda McMahon visits "Fox & Friends" at Fox News Channel Studios on March 07, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images)

Dig deeper:

Officials with the Education Department said it would continue to deliver on its key functions, such as the distribution of federal aid to schools, student loan management and oversight of Pell Grants. But Democrats and advocates have raised concerns that the layoffs will ultimately impact America’s students. 

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What they're saying:

McMahon said when she got to the department, she wanted to reduce bloat to be able to send more money to local education authorities.

"So many of the programs are really excellent, so we need to make sure the money goes to the states," McMahon said in an interview Tuesday on FOX News.

But Trump campaigned on a promise to close the department, saying it had been overtaken by "radicals, zealots and Marxists." At McMahon’s confirmation hearing, she acknowledged only Congress has the power to abolish the agency but said it might be due for cuts and a reorganization.

In a prepared statement with Tuesday's announcement, McMahon called the layoffs a reflection of the agency's "commitment to efficiency, accountability, and ensuring that resources are directed where they matter most: to students, parents, and teachers."

"This is a significant step toward restoring the greatness of the United States education system," she added. 

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The other side:

Some advocates were skeptical of the department’s claim that its functions would not be affected by the layoffs.

"I don’t see at all how that can be true," Roxanne Garza, who was chief of staff in the Office of Postsecondary Education under President Joe Biden, told the Associated Press. 

Much of what the department does, like investigating civil rights complaints and helping families apply for financial aid, is labor-intensive, said Garza, who is now director of higher education policy at Education Trust, a research and advocacy organization. "How those things will not be impacted with far fewer staff ... I just don’t see it."