In modern history, no US president has sought to close a cabinet-level agency. The closure requires the National Assembly's laws. President Donald Trump's administration officials admitted that they did not have enough votes to dissolve the US Department of Education under this method.
Therefore, the executive decree signed by President Donald Trump on March 20 that would see Education Secretary Linda McMahon implement "necessary steps to close the Department of Education and return education to the states".
It is not yet clear how the US Department of Education will be dissolved.
Before President Trump signed the decree on March 20, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the decree aimed to "significantly reduce the agency's operations", but some "essential functions" such as granting student loans and managing student subsidies were likely still under the agency's management.
President Trump also said that the above functions of the US Department of Education will be maintained but will be re-allocated to many other agencies and departments for management.
But according to two sources familiar with the matter, the US Department of Education is working to find a viable alternative to manage student loans. The huge amount of loans is 1.8 trillion USD, of which an estimated 40% are overdue loans.
About half of the US Department of Education's staff have been informed of the possibility of being laid off. Several programs to promote diversity and protect transgender students have been canceled.
The US Department of Education is one of the smallest cabinet-level agencies. The department's workforce includes 3,100 people in Washington and 1,100 people in regional offices across the country, according to the US Department of Education's website.
Thus, up to 2,100 employees of the US Department of Education are currently at risk of being fired.
According to CNN, since the evening of February 19, when there was information about the dissolutions of the US Department of Education, US Department of Education employees among the 1,300 general civil servants who were recently fired received emails from the leaders of the human resources department instructing them to schedule to take personal belongings from the office and return government equipment.
Each employee has 30 minutes to pack their belongings and is instructed to bring a box and a sticker to package their belongings. Many long-time employees of the US Department of Education are surprised by this order.
Many in the US Department of Education felt the order was like "a slapping in the face and kicking us in the face when we were weak" in the mass layoffs.
