Instead of negotiating to end the shutdown and extend health care tax credits, Trump is firing thousands of workers across the federal government doing important work, and nowhere will his most recent cuts be felt by local communities than the Department of Education.
According to a Washington Post report, the administration is slashing the agency’s workforce by nearly 20 percent, including in offices responsible for special education, civil rights enforcement, Title I funding, and after-school programs.
The firings are just numbers on a spreadsheet; they’re real people who will no longer deliver critical services of educational systems across the country. As a result, communities will see:
- Delays in funding, oversight, and services that are essential for quality K-12 education.
- A loss of critical support, as nearly all staff in the office implementing the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act are being terminated.
- The loss of TRIO and other federal support programs, pushing higher education further out of reach for first-generation and low-income students.
- Teachers and local school boards will be left scrambling to fill gaps in oversight, compliance, and federal grants administration.
- A major loss of federal funding for after-school and summer learning programs.
In addition to gutting special education and other educational programs, the administration says over 10,000 federal employees are targeted for layoffs during the shutdown, and 4,000 have already been fired, according to court filings.
- Department of Homeland Security: 176 employees were let go at the department’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
- Department of Health and Human Services: 982 employees received layoff notices, primarily from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Health Resources and Services Administration, and Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The department laid off thousands of employees this summer, including communications staff members, public records officials, and employees who oversaw contracts related to medical research.
- Department of Housing and Urban Development: Laid off 442 employees, including workers in its Office of Community Planning and Development, the regional offices of its Office of Federal Housing and Equal Opportunity, and Public and Indian Housing-Real Estate Assessment Center staff responsible for property inspection.
- Treasury Department: 1,446 employees were let go from the Internal Revenue Service, which has already fired more than 25,000 employees this year.
“Donald Trump and his allies are inflicting direct harm to communities across the country by refusing to fund the government, and using their shutdown as an excuse to lay off thousands of important workers. His layoffs at the Department of Education alone will do extreme damage to grade school students, students with disabilities, first-generation college students, poor students, teachers, and school boards,” said American Bridge 21st Century spokesperson Brandon Weathersby. “These layoffs prove that Trump is more interested in pleasing the far-right than helping kids learn, teachers teach, or schools function. He’s done everything he can to undermine education and make life harder for the children and families who need his help the most.”
Published: Oct 17, 2025 | Last Modified: Nov 13, 2025