President Donald Trump delivered another blow to the federal government’s entrenched bureaucracy this week, cutting nearly 460 employees (or 20 percent) of the Department of Education’s remaining workforce—a move his administration says will restore accountability and efficiency to a department long viewed as bloated and ideological.
The layoffs hit hardest in the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services and among staff tied to the TRIO college access programs, both of which have become symbols of mission creep and political activism under prior administrations. Critics in the mainstream media were quick to label the reductions as an “attack” on students with disabilities and low-income families, ignoring the reality that the DOE has operated unchecked for decades, resulting in layers of inefficiency and ideological enforcement masquerading as education policy. The Trump administration asserts that it would be more fitting for the Department of Health and Human Services to manage the oversight of disability programs, where medical and rehabilitation expertise already exist.
The Department confirmed to Reuters that it began issuing layoff notices on Friday as part of a broader reduction-in-force process affecting multiple federal agencies during the partial government shutdown. Education officials declined to detail which positions were eliminated but said the cuts were consistent with the president’s mandate to return control of education to states and local communities.
This is not the first round of sweeping reforms. Earlier this year, the administration eliminated more than 1,300 Education Department positions as part of its plan to streamline federal oversight and dismantle duplicative programs. A federal court briefly halted that effort before the Supreme Court cleared the way for the reductions to move forward, affirming the administration’s legal authority to restructure executive agencies and remove redundant personnel.
For decades, the Department of Education has ballooned into a multi-billion-dollar enterprise with little to show for it. The bureaucracy has inserted itself into classrooms, universities, and state policy decisions, resulting in stagnant academic outcomes and the expansion of costly administrative mandates. Under President Trump, the department’s role is being redefined to focus on statutory responsibilities, such as enforcing basic compliance and managing federal student aid, while cutting the ideological and redundant programs that fueled Washington’s overreach.
Opponents in the media and education unions have called the move “devastating,” but supporters argue it is long overdue. By reducing the department’s size and influence, the administration is taking concrete steps to restore constitutional balance, reassert local control, and stop funneling taxpayer dollars into programs that promote political activism instead of education.
The timing of the cuts, coming amid a broader federal workforce reduction and government shutdown, underscores the administration’s commitment to delivering on campaign promises to drain the swamp—not through rhetoric, but through decisive administrative action.
While critics warn of “damage” to the department’s capacity, the real damage, according to senior officials, has been decades of bureaucratic excess that stripped parents, teachers, and local communities of authority. For the first time in a generation, the Department of Education is being forced to live within its means and focus on what it was originally intended to do.
The Trump administration’s latest move marks a fundamental shift: the era of unchecked federal expansion in education is ending, and the era of accountability is beginning.
