March 13, 2025 

This week, the Trump Administration slashed nearly half of the workforce at the U.S. Department of Education (ED), hollowing out many of the critical functions that protect students and put higher education within reach to millions of families each year. 

Despite the stated wishes of President Trump and Secretary McMahon, the Secretary of Education has zero authority to shutter the Department. Congress has thoroughly legislated the agency’s existence, structure, and mission. The real intent and purpose of these mass layoffs is to instead destroy the agency’s ability to defend students and carry out its core functions in an act of intentional and destructive chaos—part of an agenda to defund public higher education and strip away students’ civil rights protections. 

Tens of millions of students across the country rely on a functioning ED to deliver Pell Grants, student loans, and other programs that reduce the price of college and improve their chance at succeeding in school and beyond. ED also manages billions of dollars in grants to schools to help students overcome financial and other challenges that prevent them from succeeding. It plays an irreplaceable role in fueling research designed to improve the lives of people in the U.S. and around the world, without which we would have little understanding about what works to help students succeed and contribute to our workforce and society. Freezing, cutting, or wholly eliminating these vital functions will make our system less efficient while exacerbating basic needs insecurity, driving up the cost of college, and fomenting chaos for the 43 million Americans with student loan debt.  

Millions of students and their families are struggling today with the rising costs of living and rapidly shifting economy. Damaging the core functions of ED will do nothing to address their pain—in fact, it will only do the opposite. Shrinking ED will drive up prices, weaken economic growth, destroy our workforce, and permanently lock millions of families out of the American Dream. 

The Hope Center stands with our partners to defend the mission of the U.S. Department of Education, and we will work to stop any effort that harms students’ chances at meeting their needs and succeeding in higher education.