US Education Department to slash workforce by half as Trump pushes to shut down agency

The US Department of Education has said it would lay off nearly half its staff, adding it is part of the department's "final mission” as federal agencies rush to meet President Donald Trump's March 13 deadline for submitting plans for a second wave of mass layoffs.

Affected Education Department employees will be placed on administrative leave starting on March 21, the department said.

All US government agencies are expected to present large-scale layoff plans by March 12, as part of the next phase of Trump's cost-cutting campaign.

Last month, Trump called for the immediate closure of the federal Department of Education despite agreeing to the complexity of the process.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency on Feb 11 also cancelled as many as 169 contracts which accounted for most of the Education Department’s Institute of Education Sciences work.

The department manages $1.6 trillion in student loans, upholds civil rights laws in schools, and allocates federal funds to underprivileged districts.

The radical actions by DOGE have not been well received by White House officials and Republican lawmakers who have faced angry constituents at town halls.

Meanwhile, Trump last week said the department heads that they, and not Musk, have the final say on staffing.

Many employees in several agencies have been offered payments to retire early, as they seek to meet the Trump administration's deadline to present plans for a massive layoff.

A union representing over 2,800 department workers has said it would fight the “draconian cuts.”

"What is clear from the past weeks of mass firings, chaos, and unchecked unprofessionalism is that this regime has no respect for the thousands of workers who have dedicated their careers to serving their fellow Americans," said Sheria Smith, president of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 252.

Till now, only a few agencies have telegraphed how many employees they plan to cut in the second phase of layoffs including the Department of Veterans Affairs, which is planning to cut more than 80,000 workers, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which is planning to cut 1,029 staff.

The Trump administration is grappling with numerous lawsuits after carrying out mass layoffs of thousands of probationary workers and dismantling key agencies, including the US Agency for International Development and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which safeguards Americans from fraudulent lenders.