Administration of Donald Trump The U.S. Department of Education will move from its headquarters to a smaller office in Washington, officials said Thursday, as part of ongoing efforts to reduce the agency’s role.The department said its current headquarters building is about 70 percent empty after staff cuts since Trump took office. The United States Department of Energy will lease the building, according to the Associated Press.
Transfer part of a wider project.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon called the move part of the administration’s plan to close the department, which Trump ordered nearly a year ago.“Thanks to the hard work of many people, we have made unprecedented progress in reducing the federal education footprint, and we are now pleased to give the building to an agency that will benefit from its space far beyond the Department of Education,” McMahon said in a statement.Another office move is planned for August in Washington.Administration officials said the move would reduce unused space and avoid maintenance costs in the existing building. The move is part of a broader effort to downsize the department, a Trump campaign promise.
Unions and political backlash
The union representing the department’s employees criticized the decision. “The message the secretary’s announcement sends to our staff and the American people is clear – education is the next step,” said Rachel Gittleman, president of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 252, according to the AP.Only the United States Congress has the authority to formally close the department. However, the administration has transferred many of its functions to other agencies through interagency agreements.Bobby Scott, the top Democrat on the House Education and Workforce Committee, said the move goes beyond symbolism. “This decision to close the department’s physical building is not just a symbolic move,” Scott said in a statement to the AP. “This reflects a broader effort to diminish the federal government’s role in ensuring people have equal access to quality education.”
Transferring programs to other agencies
In a recent move, the administration transferred the management of student loans in default to the United States Treasury Department. Responsibility for the remaining $1.7 trillion federal student loan portfolio is also expected to be transferred to the Treasury Department at a later date.Over the past year, several education-related programs have been reassigned to other agencies, including the United States Department of Health and Human Services and the United States Department of Labor. These include family engagement, funding for low-income schools and teacher training programs.
