Quotes
We are aggressively auditing our spending to ensure maximum impact for students and responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars.”
In a written statement, Madi Biedermann, a spokeswoman for the Department of Education, said
We cannot maintain our current staffing levels given the situation and the headwinds we know are coming,
she said in the recordingThese cancellations are a great loss for our nation’s students, families and communities.”
In a written statement, WestEd chief executive Jannelle Kubinec said
This is bedrock, base-line information for how our society is functioning,
said Philip N. Cohen, a sociologist at the University of MarylandHe had success in that.”
Referencing a Trump official who saidIf Congress and the department don’t act quickly to bolster national assessment expertise, who could trust that this once ‘gold standard’ test is still fair and comparable?”
he saidWe will lose some valuable studies, ... and we’ll probably lose some bloated studies.”
he saidSince the educational system has been taken over by humanism, and since humanism is an officially declared religion, we find the government establishing a religion and giving the high priest a position in the president’s cabinet.”
Timothy LaHaye, founder of the similarly conservative organization Christian Voice, lamented
If you give the bureaucrats the children, you might as well give them everything else as well,
Machen proclaimed to applause in the chamberI can’t imagine how many mothers drop out,
she said
No one voted for this. Millions rely on Pell Grants, federal student loans, and special education funding. Dismantling the Department of Education will hurt our kids and create chaos for students, teachers, and families across the country."
Representative Brendan Boyle, a Democrat and the ranking member on the House Budget Committee, wrote on X
We have seen significant alignment between the administration's actions and what was in Project 2025,
Peter Granville, a fellow at The Century Foundation, where he analyzes federal and state policy efforts to improve college access and affordability, told NewsweekEducation should be the last place for cuts,
said one user
What is clear from the past weeks of mass firings, chaos, and unchecked unprofessionalism is that this regime has no respect for the thousands of workers who have dedicated their careers to serve their fellow Americans,
said Sheria Smith, president of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 252.
The massive reduction in force at the Education Department is an attack on opportunity that will gut the agency and its ability to support students, throwing federal education programs into chaos across the country,
the union's president Randi Weingarten said
As part of the Department of Education's final mission, the department today initiated a reduction in force impacting nearly 50% of the department's workforce,
a statement from Education Secretary Linda McMahon said on TuesdayMake no mistake: Today’s action is a far cry from any thoughtful, comprehensive policy proposal to improve our education system,
Sameer Gadkaree, president of the Institute for College Access & Success, said in a statement Tuesday night
We’re particularly concerned with how this move could threaten college students and student loan borrowers,
Gadkaree addedCore functions of the department could experience outages or breakages, leaving students struggling to get or renew financial aid or campus-based aid. Student loan borrowers, meanwhile, will struggle to access the benefits current law provides. And they can’t be sure they will get reliable, accurate advice on student loan repayment,
he addedIt would be an entirely new undertaking for Treasury, and so if that were to happen, it seems really unlikely that untangling all of that and redistributing the work of federal student aid in the student loan servicing space would proceed either quickly or without any disruptions,
she said