Education Secretary Linda McMahon has moved to sharply reduce the U.S. Department of Education’s workforce and reassign some responsibilities, aligning with President Donald Trump’s stated goal of dismantling the agency even as its formal abolition would require an act of Congress. The changes have hit education research, civil-rights enforcement and parts of federal student loan administration.
President Donald Trump appointed Linda McMahon—who previously ran World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and served as head of the Small Business Administration in his first term—as secretary of education in 2025, saying he wanted the Department of Education eliminated.
In a New Yorker profile by staff writer Zach Helfand, McMahon said Trump asked what Cabinet job she wanted during the 2024 transition and told her his aim was to “kill the department.” That account, echoed in an NPR interview about Helfand’s reporting, describes McMahon embracing the role despite limited background in education policy.
Soon after taking office, the department began implementing major staffing reductions. On March 11, 2025, the Education Department announced it had initiated a “reduction in force” affecting nearly 50% of its workforce as part of what it called the department’s “final mission.” The department said the move followed weeks of voluntary resignations and retirements.
Helfand told NPR that McMahon spent only “about three hours” touring or learning the department before speaking publicly about the “final mission,” and that broad layoffs followed within a week of her confirmation. Helfand also said the total number of employees affected has been difficult to pin down because court rulings and reinstatements left some workers in limbo—laid off, placed on administrative leave, or later returned.
The shake-up has had ripple effects across major offices. A year after contract cancellations tied to Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, reporting from KQED and other outlets said the Institute of Education Sciences (IES)—the department’s research arm—lost roughly 90% of its staff, disrupting parts of the federal education data and research infrastructure. IES oversees the National Center for Education Statistics, which produces the National Assessment of Educational Progress, known as the Nation’s Report Card.
National testing results show many students remain below pre-pandemic performance. The National Assessment Governing Board, which oversees NAEP, reported that 2024 NAEP results released in early 2025 left the nation below 2019 scores in key subjects, with reading declines persisting and only limited improvements in some areas.
Civil-rights enforcement has also been disrupted. A Government Accountability Office report published in early 2026 found that the Education Department’s attempted staff reductions in the Office for Civil Rights led to significant costs from keeping employees on paid administrative leave while litigation played out—an estimated $28.5 million to $38 million from March through mid-December 2025—while OCR’s capacity to handle discrimination complaints was strained.
On student loans, the Education Department has begun shifting parts of its loan operation to the Treasury Department. In March 2026, the administration announced an agreement under which Treasury would immediately take over management of defaulted federal student loans—about $180 billion, or roughly 11% of the government’s $1.7 trillion student loan portfolio—while describing further phases that could expand Treasury’s role.
Supporters inside the administration argue the restructuring is intended to streamline federal involvement in education and shift responsibilities elsewhere. Critics, including federal employee representatives and some Democrats, have warned the changes could weaken oversight and disrupt services for borrowers, students with disabilities and families seeking civil-rights remedies.
McMahon’s defenders point to her reputation as a steady manager at the Small Business Administration during Trump’s first term and her long tenure in the pro-wrestling business. In WWE, the company emphasized “sports entertainment” as its brand and built a merchandising-driven business model centered on controlling and licensing its intellectual property—experience allies say helps explain her approach to reorganizing large institutions.
Even as the Trump administration pushes to shrink the agency, the limits of executive authority remain. Congress created the Department of Education and would have to pass legislation to abolish it outright, a point McMahon acknowledged during her confirmation process and that Helfand also highlighted in his reporting.
