Trump vows to cut Education Department staff to 550 by December 2026
Trump a Truth Social graphic touts Executive Order 14242, framing an 86.5% headquarters staff reduction as a fulfilled campaign promise to return schooling to the states.
WASHINGTON D.C. — Donald Trump has renewed his pledge to shrink the Department of Education to its smallest possible size by December 2026.
Here is the full post on truthsocial: “RETURNING EDUCATION TO THE STATES PROMISES MADE PROMISES KEPT Executive Order 14242: ”The Secretary of Education shall, to the maximum extent appropriate and permitted by law, take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return authority over education to the States and local communities while ensuring the effective and uninterrupted delivery of services, programs, and benefits on which Americans rely.“ We will put PARENTS back in charge and give them the final say. We will give our kids the high quality, PRO-AMERICAN EDUCATION they deserve. Trump JANUARY 2024”
The post charts a steep decline in headquarters staffing. Department of Education headquarters employed 4,078 people on January 20, 2025, dropped to 2,286 by July 1, 2026, and will reach roughly 550 by December 2026, an 86.5% cut. The administration plans to reduce the agency to the smallest extent possible absent congressional action.
Executive Order 14242 directs the secretary to facilitate the closure of the department while preserving federally required services. Congress created the department in 1980, and taxpayers have since spent about $3 trillion on it, according to ed.gov. In 2024, only 35% of fourth and eighth graders reached proficiency in reading, while only 39% of fourth graders and 28% of eighth graders reached proficiency in mathematics, according to ed.gov.
The administration has moved functions to other agencies rather than eliminating them. The Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services deepened a partnership on special education and disability programs, and the two departments split administration of workforce and K-12 grant programs with the Department of Labor, according to ed.gov. Grants and federal student aid remain available at congressionally authorized funding levels, and protections under ESEA, HEA, IDEA, and Section 504 continue to apply, according to ed.gov.
Parents, states, and local school boards stand to gain authority under the plan, while career federal staff face the deepest losses. Supporters argue that local control improves outcomes. Critics warn that dispersing programs across agencies could disrupt services for students who depend on them.
Has this happened before? Republicans have promised to abolish the Department of Education since its creation, according to senate.gov. Senator Mike Rounds, a South Dakota Republican, reintroduced the Returning Education to Our States Act in April 2025, which would eliminate the department and redistribute programs while saving about $2.2 billion a year, according to senate.gov. Senators Jim Banks of Indiana and Tim Sheehy of Montana cosponsored the bill, according to senate.gov.
Congress will decide whether to codify the changes, because full closure requires legislation. A date for a floor vote on the Rounds bill has not been announced.
Efforts to erase the department reach back to its birth. Congress created the cabinet-level agency in 1979 under President Jimmy Carter, and President Ronald Reagan campaigned in 1980 to abolish it. Reagan never secured the votes, and the department survived every administration that followed, growing its budget 449 percent above its founding level, according to senate.gov. No president before Trump has driven its headquarters payroll toward 550 positions.
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