In response to Donald Trump gutting the Department of Education, DNC Chair Ken Martin released the following statement: 

“Donald Trump holds the future of 50 million public school students across America in his hands, and today he told those kids and their parents he doesn’t give a damn about them. Defunding public education doesn’t put America first — it all but guarantees that we will be last for generations to come. Trump and the billionaire megadonor he installed as Education Secretary are pickpocketing our public schools, which will lead to ballooning class sizes, fewer teachers and aides, and a lower quality of education for our kids.” 

NEW: Donald Trump just gut the Department of Education, laying the groundwork to fulfill a core promise of his wildly unpopular Project 2025 agenda. 

NPR: “U.S. Education Department says it is cutting nearly half of all staff”

“The Trump administration is working toward its promise of eliminating the U.S. Department of Education: On Tuesday evening, the department released a statement saying it would cut nearly 50% of the department’s workforce. Impacted staff will be placed on administrative leave beginning March 21, according to the announcement.”

Laura Ingraham, Fox News: “Is this the first step on the road to a total shutdown?”

Linda McMahon: “Yes, actually it is. Because that was the President’s mandate as directed to me, clearly, is to shut down the Department of Education …”

Reporter: “Do you want the Department of Education to be closed?” 

Trump: “Oh, I’d like it to be closed immediately.”

Project 2025, p. 319: “Federal education policy should be limited and, ultimately, the federal Department of Education should be eliminated.”

Shutting the Department of Education down will have disastrous consequences for tens of millions of families, threatening billions of dollars that support K-12 schools, working families, and low-income schools while gutting student loan debt relief. 

LA Times: “The prospect of dismantling the Department of Education has led to questions and fears over potential chaos over how key responsibilities and billions in federal funding — including handling federal financial aid, grants for disadvantaged students and civil rights enforcement — would be affected.

“The department has authority over financial lifelines that so many campuses and students rely on. The department’s K-12 programs serve more than 50 million students attending 130,000 public and private schools; federal grant, loan, and work-study assistance benefits more than 13 million post-secondary students.”

Inside Higher Ed: “College and university stakeholders worry that abolishing the Education Department could be catastrophic for institutions and students. State higher education officials, university administrators, nonprofit advocacy groups and students depend on the Education Department to oversee federal student aid, manage the student loan portfolio, investigate civil rights complaints and allocate billions of dollars in institutional aid, among other operations.” 

Associated Press: “[I]n 2010 … the Education Department became the sole lender of federally subsidized student loans.” 

Project 2025, p. 350: “Title I …should be phased out …” 

TIME: “This loss of almost $18 billion in federal funding would be devastating. Eliminating Title I would harm nearly three million children throughout the U.S. … [and] could result in the loss of 180,000 jobs for educators … 

“Title I also provides federal funding for high-poverty schools.”

Trump’s toxic cuts also disproportionately hit Trump voters the hardest. 

CNN: “Potential federal education cuts could hit GOP’s base hardest” 

“It’s the sort of place where President-elect Donald Trump’s ‘America First’ message resonated – but also where some of his proposed policies could hit hardest, especially his promise to eliminate the Department of Education and slash federal funds to public schools. …

“Even a slight reduction in those dollars could have devastating effects for students and their families.”