Today is the last day for many Education Department workers. Here's what they did [View all]

Source: npr


August 1, 20258:55 AM ET


..............These employees performed a wide range of jobs, from safeguarding students' civil rights to helping borrowers navigate a bewildering federal student loan system.


Nearly 1,400 department workers are being fired as part of a broad reduction in force (RIF) that began on March 11. Days later, when President Trump signed an executive order to dismantle the Education Department, he said, "We're going to be returning education, very simply, back to the states where it belongs."

He also claimed that many department employees "don't work at all" and that "we want to cut the people that aren't working or are not doing a good job."

Trump's education secretary, Linda McMahon, called the mass firing "a significant step toward restoring the greatness of the United States education system."


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To mark their departure, half a dozen department workers spoke with NPR, eager to tell their side of this story about the work they did and why they think it matters.

David Downey, Office of Grants Management, 30 years of service

The Education Department sends billions of dollars to states to help pay for public education. Downey's role was to help state and local officials understand how to apply for that money and then "ensure that they're using taxpayer dollars properly. That's where I hang my hat."

Downey says he served Democratic and Republican administrations, ...........



Read more: https://www.npr.org/2025/08/01/nx-s1-5482492/last-day-education-department-workers