According to two people familiar with the decision, Trump administration officials are planning to fire many of their education staff. The move could come on Tuesday, potentially managing the university's federal loans, tracking student achievement, and asserting the school's agencies that enforce civil rights laws.
The cuts confirmed by two people not allowed to speak publicly could state additional moves by the Trump administration, as President Trump said he wanted to do, despite the fact that he could not close without Congressional approval.
Rumors about potential layoffs began streaming after receiving an email around 2pm and announced that the Washington-area agency's offices would close Wednesday and reopen on Thursday.
An email from the department's security office, obtained by the New York Times, did not provide a reason for the closure. However, the administration gave an equally inexplicable notice of temporary closure of offices last month before major cuts were made by the US International Development Agency and the Consumer Financial Protection Agency.
The education department had around 4,200 employees at the end of last year. This is the smallest workforce among the 15 Cabinet-level enforcement sectors.
Trump says he wants to rely on his state and local school districts to fully oversee the American education system. The president has adopted a tough position consistent with the parental rights movement, which grew out of backlash against school closures and other restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic.
The move has simmered with ideas on the left-leaning curriculum, particularly opposing LGBTQ issues and race. Activists argued that these priorities undermined parents' rights and values.
In an interview last week about Fox News, Education Secretary Linda McMahon said she intends to sign an executive order aimed at closing the department, but she refused to provide details of the timing.
An executive order to dismantle the department challenges the powers of the Congress. Congressional powers must approve the movement to create departments by law and to close them legally. It's hard to believe that in the closely divided Senate, polls, especially for the past two months, consistently show that around two-thirds of Americans are opposed to closing the department, so it's hard to believe that the administration will find enough support to do so.
