Education Department broadcasts it’s reducing workers by half as Trump appears to shutter it | EUROtoday

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The Department of Education, led by Secretary Linda McMahon, will lay off half its workers as President Donald Trump appears to finally shutter the company.

About 1,315 folks might be laid off, a senior Trump administration official advised The Washington Post Tuesday, whereas one other 600 accepted gives to depart voluntarily. This comes on prime of 63 probationary staff who have been already let go.

This means about half of the company’s 4,000-person workers might be leaving.

“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,” McMahon stated in an announcement.

Trump has stated he plans to close down the company, with stories final week he could possibly be poised to signal an govt order telling McMahon to start the method. It would take an act of Congress, nonetheless, to dismantle the company utterly.

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Experts are warning the transfer might show disastrous.

“Make no mistake: Today’s action is a far cry from any thoughtful, comprehensive policy proposal to improve our education system,” Sameer Gadkaree, president of the Institute for College Access & Success, stated in an announcement Tuesday night time.

“We’re particularly concerned with how this move could threaten college students and student loan borrowers,” Gadkaree added.

“Core functions of the department could experience outages or breakages, leaving students struggling to get or renew financial aid or campus-based aid. Student loan borrowers, meanwhile, will struggle to access the benefits current law provides. And they can’t be sure they will get reliable, accurate advice on student loan repayment,” he added.

Even if the Education Department shuts its doorways, there is no such thing as a indication federal scholar mortgage packages will disappear. Another company — such because the Treasury Department — would possible soak up the division’s $1.7 trillion mortgage portfolio if it shuts down. But such a large transition might show disruptive to debtors, McCarthy advised The Independent final week.

“It would be an entirely new undertaking for Treasury, and so if that were to happen, it seems really unlikely that untangling all of that and redistributing the work of federal student aid in the student loan servicing space would proceed either quickly or without any disruptions,” she stated.

Senator Patty Murray, a Democrat who beforehand chaired the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, equally slammed the choice in an announcement to CBS News.

“Families want help to get students’ math and reading scores up and ensure their kids can thrive — instead, Donald Trump is taking a wrecking ball to the Department of Education and robbing our students and teachers of the resources and support they need, so that Republicans can pay for more massive tax cuts for billionaires,” she stated.

But Republican Senator Bill Cassidy, who presently chairs the committee, insisted the transfer gained’t be as impactful as different consultants declare.

“I spoke to @EDSecMcMahon and she made it clear this will not have an impact on @usedgov ability to carry out its statutory obligations,” Cassidy said. “This action is aimed at fulfilling the admin’s goal of addressing redundancy and inefficiency in the federal government.”

The Independent has contacted the Education Department for remark.