Education Department faces scrutiny over slashes to workforce, programs

Key Points:

• Former Education secretaries and union officials are calling for a formal investigation into the Trump administration's significant workforce and program cuts at the Education Department, citing concerns of waste, fraud, and abuse.
• The department laid off nearly half its career employees last year, reducing its headcount from about 4,000 to 2,000, while simultaneously posting job openings for positions identical to those eliminated, raising concerns about rehiring practices.
• Democrats and union leaders are pledging to reverse these cuts and restore the department's functions, emphasizing the human and financial costs of the reductions and the need for legislative protections.
• The Education Department is transferring many of its major programs and personnel to other federal agencies through interagency agreements, including civil rights enforcement to the Justice Department and special education oversight to Health and Human Services.
• Legal challenges continue, with state attorneys general seeking documents related to the workforce reductions, while congressional committees advance bipartisan bills to prevent further dismantling of the Education Department.