Education Department downsizing – and what else?

Secretary of Education Linda McMahon has taken some extraordinary, indeed astonishing steps to prepare her department for eventual shutdown. One expects the head of an agency slated for shutdown to reduce its workforce, even drastically. But one does not expect that head to lock down the building for a day, for unspecified “security reasons.” So one can only guess why Secretary McMahon is proceeding as she is. But past actions – and findings – of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) must inform any such guess. Could we eventually expect to hear of more Democratic Party or allied NGO slush funds? Considering the volume and types of programs the Education Department administers, that becomes a distinct possibility.

Latest news at the Education Department

Yesterday (March 11), the Department sent an email to all workers in the Washington, D.C. headquarters and other regional offices. The message, from James Hairfield of the Office of Security, Facilities, and Logistics, gave these orders:

Beginning today at 6:00 p.m., all ED offices in the National Capital Region (NCR) will be closed for security reasons. Employees must vacate the building by that time. All ED offices in the NCR and the regions will be closed to employees on Wednesday, March 12^th.

Impact on you:

Due to the closures, employees with approved telework agreements may work from home on Wednesday, March 12^th. Please take your laptop with you when departing the office on Tuesday, March 11^th. Employees will not be permitted in any ED facility on Wednesday, March 12^th for any reason. All offices will reopen on Thursday, March 13^th at which time in-person presence will continue.

Leaks from the Education Department already indicated, before that deadline (on the East Coast), that the Department was going to lay off half its workforce.

NEW: Dept of Education staff received a notice telling them to leave the building by 6pm today, and that all ED offices in DC as well as regional offices will be closed tomorrow, per an email obtained by CBS News. No reason was given for the closures.

NEW: Dept of Education staff received a notice telling them to leave the building by 6pm today, and that all ED offices in DC as well as regional offices will be closed tomorrow, per an email obtained by @CBSNews. No reason was given for the closures. pic.twitter.com/7ztLLpiBbQ— Sara Cook (@saraecook) March 11, 2025

Then, with the reaching of the deadline, came the news that the Department laid off half its workforce. Secretary McMahon released a detailed statement on the “reduction in force.” That statement includes this direct quote from herself:

Today’s reduction in force reflects the Department of Education’s commitment to efficiency, accountability, and ensuring that resources are directed where they matter most: to students, parents, and teachers. I appreciate the work of the dedicated public servants and their contributions to the Department. This is a significant step toward restoring the greatness of the United States education system.

She also posted the above to X:

As part of the Department of Education’s final mission, the Department today initiated a reduction in force (RIF) impacting nearly 50% of the Department’s workforce.— Secretary Linda McMahon (@EDSecMcMahon) March 11, 2025

I appreciate the work of the dedicated public servants and their contributions to the Department. This is a significant step toward restoring the greatness of the United States education system.— Secretary Linda McMahon (@EDSecMcMahon) March 11, 2025

McMahon’s posts drew a mixed reaction. Everyone assumed that this was the order to shut down the Department. (Actually, Secretary McMahon herself acknowledges that only an Act of Congress can accomplish that.) Most respondents applauded the idea, asking who needs a federal Education Department? But others predicted – predictably – that children, of red States or blue, would suffer.

CNN had perhaps the most comprehensive report on reaction to the layoffs and the idea of a shutdown. The unions – mainly the National Education Association (NEA) and the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) – spoke of

mass firings, chaos, and unchecked unprofessionalism,

not to mention

a rampant disinformation campaign to mislead Americans about the actual services, resources, grants, and programs that the U.S. Department of Education provides to all Americans.

The obvious question now arises: what are those union local heads afraid of? Is it only the loss of their jobs – or are the afraid of what an audit will reveal?

What next?

No one is even asking that last question. But Neal McClusky, director of the CATO Institute’s Center for Educational Freedom, said this:

If [Trump] says, “We’re going to have a 50% reduction in staff,” there is reason to be concerned about how the system will work: Is that enough people? We’re going to learn whether or not they can do the job with fewer of them.

Note that CNN included a contact form for federal workers to share what are likely their sob stories.

Shutting down the buildings apparently serves two purposes. Everyone’s talking about separating those who will keep their jobs from those who will not. But perhaps on-site audits are now taking place.

All layoffs will take effect on March 21. In fact, according to CNN, those receiving the layoff notices will not return to in-person work. They will keep working remotely until March 21, and will then go on paid administrative leave. In mid-June, they will be officially terminated, with severance pay depending on length of service. 572 other employees had already accepted “buyout” offers. Those who did not get layoff notices, instead got notices speaking of “changes” at the Education Department.

In addition to the Reduction in Force, the Education Department plans to terminate leases of several regional buildings. These include New York, Boston, Chicago and Cleveland, according to Department Chief of Staff Rachel Oglesby. (Source: WCVB-TV, Channel 5, ABC-TV, Boston, Mass.)

As even The New York Times admits, eliminating the Education Department will not necessarily mean ending all its missions. Curriculum control will, of course, revert to State Education Departments and local school boards. But other departments can and likely would handle federal grants-in-aid.

Mutinous attitudes

The Times also admitted something else that could explain the extraordinary measure of closing the buildings during the layoff notices:

About 75 former agency workers had gathered outside the department’s headquarters in Washington on Tuesday morning to rally opposition to the cuts pushed by the administration.

At the end of the rally, Dorie Turner Nolt, one of the organizers, urged the crowd members to face the building and cheer their former colleagues inside who, she said, were doing their best to uphold democracy. Several workers inside the building pressed up against the windows, waving their hands and flashing a thumbs-up amid the ovation.

Later that evening, a woman left the building carrying a stack of government laptops to a group of colleagues waiting at the curb so they could check their emails to see if they were let go. The woman, who declined to give her name out of fear of retribution, said she had worked for years at the agency overseeing payments from the department.

That is mutiny. This attitude indicates that the threat is not so much of retaliation against those who will stay on the job, as of destruction of evidence of improper payments and other kinds of financial chicanery that DOGE has already discovered at other agencies. In fact, Secretary McMahon acknowledged having met with DOGE members. Might they have already developed evidence demanding a thorough, on-side audit?

All eyes are on President Trump, whom many expect to sign an Executive Order abolishing the Department of Education. That order could come tomorrow, and perhaps that’s another reason to close the buildings today. Further details – including findings of any on-site audits – will likely have to wait until then.