Padilla, Schiff Condemn Trump Administration’s Gutting of Education Department
Senators to Education Secretary: “We will not stand by as you attempt to turn back the clock on education in this country”
WASHINGTON, D.C. — As President Trump and Elon Musk attack public education in America by closing offices and laying off 1,300 workers at the Department of Education, Senators Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff (both D-Calif.) joined 36 Democratic colleagues in expressing outrage at the Administration’s reckless and illegal firing of half of the workforce at the U.S. Department of Education, which will cripple America’s education system and impact students in California and across the country.
California’s public education system, supported by the Department of Education, is the largest in the country. There are about 10,000 public schools in California serving over 5.8 million students. If the Department is dismantled, the nearly $8 billion in federal funding that California receives annually to support low-income students, students with disabilities, and more could be at risk. California also has the most extensive higher education system in the nation, including the largest number of Pell Grant recipients who rely on Education Department staff to help them attend college. Abolishing the Department of Education would have devastating impacts on California schools, students, faculty, communities, and the economy.
“At a time of massive income and wealth inequality, when 60 percent of people live paycheck to paycheck, millions of Americans cannot afford higher education, and 40 percent of our nation’s 4th graders and 33 percent of 8th graders read below basic proficiency, it is a national disgrace that the Trump Administration is attempting to illegally abolish the Department of Education and thus, undermine a high-quality education for our students,” wrote the Senators.
The Senators noted that these layoffs and closures will have devastating effects on the nation’s students, including by limiting the Department’s ability to guarantee that federal funding reaches communities that rely on it, ensure students can access federal financial aid, and uphold students’ civil rights. Not even 24 hours after the staff reductions were announced, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) experienced a glitch that prevented students and families from accessing the application. Education Department workers responsible for fixing it had reportedly been fired.
“[The layoffs] would also mean decreased enforcement of rights for children with disabilities and fewer resources for students from low-income backgrounds and children with disabilities, like the 26 million students from low-income backgrounds and over 100,000 public schools in every community across this country that rely on Title I funding; the 7.5 million students with disabilities who benefit under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and the 7 million students who receive Pell grants to help access higher education,” continued the Senators.
“We will not stand by as you attempt to turn back the clock on education in this country through gutting the Department of Education,” concluded the Senators. “Our nation’s public schools, colleges, and universities are preparing the next generation of America’s leaders—we must take steps to strengthen education in this country, not take a wrecking ball to the agency that exists to do so.”
California, 19 other states, and Washington, D.C. have sued the Trump Administration for these reckless cuts and are pushing a federal judge to reinstate the 1,300 fired Education Department workers.
The letter to Secretary of Education Linda McMahon was led by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. In addition to Padilla, Schiff, and Sanders, the letter was also signed by Senators Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).
Last month, Senator Padilla blasted President Trump’s nomination of Linda McMahon to lead the Department of Education, underscoring the enormous threat the Trump Administration poses to the education of millions of students in California and across the country. Senator Padilla joined Senator Warren and his Senate colleagues in launching a probe into reports that Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) infiltrated the Department of Education and gained access to federal student loan data, which includes millions of borrowers’ personal information. The Senators sent a follow-up letter raising concerns about the Department of Education’s “woefully inadequate,” “misleading” response to their inquiry.
Full text of the letter is available here and below:
Dear Secretary McMahon:
We write to express our outrage that you, President Trump, and unelected billionaire Elon Musk are taking steps to abolish the Department of Education (“the Department”) and eliminate educational opportunities for millions of students across the country, something that 61 percent of Americans oppose. This most recently includes a 50 percent cut to the workforce, resulting in the termination of over 1,300 workers at the Department of Education, as well as the abrupt, last minute closure of all Department of Education buildings beginning at 6:00 PM on the same day that these terminations were announced.
At a time of massive income and wealth inequality, when 60 percent of people live paycheck to paycheck, millions of Americans cannot afford higher education, and 40 percent of our nation’s 4th graders and 33 percent of 8th graders read below basic proficiency,3 it is a national disgrace that the Trump Administration is attempting to illegally abolish the Department of Education and thus, undermine a high-quality education for our students.
As Secretary of Education, you are the foremost public servant responsible for carrying out the Department of Education’s mission to promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access. Despite that responsibility, your first act as Secretary was announcing it was your “final mission” to dismantle the Department of Education, fire the public servants who keep it running, and terminate opportunities for students in public schools, colleges, and universities across the country.
The false claims of financial savings by dismantling the Department of Education so that billionaires can receive huge tax breaks is bad public policy and morally reprehensible. The billionaires that are in charge of our federal government right now will not be harmed by these egregious attacks: wealthy families sending their children to elite, private schools will still be able to get a quality education even if every public school disappears in this country. But for working-class families, high-quality public education is an opportunity they rely on for their children to have a path to do well in life.
Defunding federal support for public education would result in either higher property taxes or decreased funding for public schools, including in rural areas. It would also mean decreased enforcement of rights for children with disabilities and fewer resources for students from low-income backgrounds and children with disabilities, like the 26 million students from low-income backgrounds and over 100,000 public schools in every community across this country that rely on Title I funding; the 7.5 million students with disabilities who benefit under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and the 7 million students who receive Pell grants to help access higher education.
It is undeniable that terminating 50 percent of the Department of Education’s workers will have harmful effects on public education in this country. The Department of Education already has the smallest staff of the 15 Cabinet agencies despite having the third largest discretionary budget, behind only the Departments of Defense and Health and Human Services. These reductions will have devastating impacts on our nation’s students and we are deeply concerned that without staff, the Department will be unable to fulfill critical functions, such as ensuring students can access federal financial aid, upholding students’ civil rights, and guaranteeing that federal funding reaches communities promptly and is well-spent. Not even 24 hours after the staff reductions were announced, the Free Application for Federal Financial Aid (FAFSA) experienced a glitch that prevented students and families from accessing the application, but the staff normally responsible for fixing those errors had reportedly been cut. The Department has also reportedly shuttered several regional offices responsible for investigating potential violations of students’ civil rights in local schools. We are deeply alarmed that cases will go uninvestigated and that students will be left in unsafe learning environments as a result.
The Trump Administration also says it wants to ‘return education back to the states.’ Let us be very clear—public education is already run by states and local school boards. While just 11 percent of public education is federally funded, the Department of Education has a necessary and irreplaceable responsibility to implement federal laws that ensure equal opportunity for all children in this country. These laws guarantee fundamental protections, such as ensuring that children with disabilities receive a free appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment, that students from low-income backgrounds and students of color will not be disproportionately taught by less experienced and qualified teachers, and that parents will receive information about their child’s academic achievement.
Without the Department of Education, there is no guarantee that states would uphold students’ civil and educational rights. Let us not forget that it was federal troops who protected the “Little Rock Nine” from a violent mob of segregationists when they integrated Central High School in the wake of the Brown v. Board U.S. Supreme Court decision. Not only was the state not going to provide this protection, but it was then-Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus who ordered the state’s National Guard to bar Black students from entering the school. Even today, the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights regularly investigates and resolves complaints of student discrimination related to students’ race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability status.
We will not stand by as you attempt to turn back the clock on education in this country through gutting the Department of Education. Our nation’s public schools, colleges, and universities are preparing the next generation of America’s leaders—we must take steps to strengthen education in this country, not take a wrecking ball to the agency that exists to do so.
Sincerely,
###