President Trump has long targeted the Department of Education in a series of attacks that cut more than half of the workforce, gutted $600 million in grants that helped place teachers in underserved schools. In a move that betrays his intentions to restrict access to affordable quality education for working families, he cut the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights staff in half, as reported in the New York Times.
Now Trump seeks to abolish the department entirely, an endeavor that would require an act of congressional approval, according to Article I of the Constitution. However, on Thursday, after signing an executive order, that would begin the process of eliminating the department, he ordered Education Secretary Linda McMahon to begin shutting down the department. The department cannot be eradicated entirely, although President Trump stated in his executive order, that he aims to “take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return authority over education to the states and local communities.”
On Friday, another troubling development took place for working families who rely on federal loans to send their children to college. As reported by the New York Times, President Trump announced department would no longer manage the nation’s $1.6 trillion student loan portfolio or oversee special education services. Instead, the Small Business Administration will manage the student loan portfolio, while special education services, and nutrition programs, will be under the jurisdiction of the Department of Health and Human Services.
This announcement comes just after the Small Business Administration, announced Thursday that it would cut 43 percent of its approximately 6,500 workers. It’s unclear as of now what the consequences of this decision will be for borrowers, as the terms of their loans can be changed with the stroke of a pen.
AFT, which represents 1.8 million members, raised concerns for the millions of students living in poverty, living with disabilities or relying on financial aid to go to college or pursue a trade, who all rely on federal funding from the Department of Education.
“As Republican governors at the White House celebrate the dismantling of a federal role in education, our members across the country are worried about the impact this will have on their students. No one likes bureaucracy, and everyone’s in favor of more efficiency, so let’s find ways to accomplish that. But this isn’t efficiency, its evisceration,” said AFT President Randi Weingarten.
To hear directly from teachers across the country on how President Trump’s actions directly impact them, click here.
AFT New Jersey President Jennifer Higgins also addressed her concerns in a statement.
“As the President of AFT New Jersey, it is important for me to share that Federal funding from the department supports 1.3 million children across 2,500 schools in New Jersey. Title 1 schools receive $463 million and serve over 556,000 students. In addition, funding for students with disabilities covers 243,000 kids, and districts receive $464 million in IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) funding. It also invests in higher education through $46 billion in federal student loans that support over 1.2 million New Jerseyans pursuing education beyond a high school diploma. In addition, 170,000 students are able to pursue a college degree because of the Pell Grants (totaling $832 million) they receive. And this does not include the impact of cuts to Medicaid that are being considered in Washington. Those will affect one in three children in the state,” she concluded.
Trump to Pick Union-Busting Attorney for Key Labor Law Position
The president’s choice of general counsel as reported by The American Project is Crystal Carey, an attorney at Morgan Lewis, a firm with a staunch reputation for union-busting, as demonstrated in their involvement in some of the most prominent labor battles. From the 1981 air traffic controllers’ strike to McDonald’s attempts to continue to underpay their workers, Morgan Lewis is notorious for their anti-union position. One of their more recent clients known for their resistance to unionization is Amazon, which has an active lawsuit that seeks to declare the NLRB as unconstitutional, according to The American Prospect.
Instrumental in protecting the fundamental right of working people to organize, and in holding employers accountable for unfair labor practices, the NLRB has an important impact on workers across the country.
Retirees, individuals with disabilities, and the families of deceased workers all rely on Social Security for essential financial support. However, access to this support may soon be jeopardized. As reported by the New York Times, under President Trump’s-appointed leadership, the SSA intends to cut 7,000 jobs from a workforce of 57,000 employees. As the cuts continue, regional and field offices will continue to close. So far, dozens of offices have been closed throughout the country, and on its website, DOGE lists 47 Social Security Administration field offices set for closure across the U.S.
This is only the beginning of the challenges that the Social Security Administration faces in their mission to provide critical support to working families. According to the Washington Post, President Trump, as advised by DOGE, intends to create more barriers to accessing social security benefits by imposing changes to the claims process that would greatly delay access to benefits, or even ultimately prevent people from applying for or receiving benefits. According to an internal memo, this new process would involve a requirement for those applying for benefits to prove their identity through an online system that the memo refers to as “internet ID proofing.” If the claimants can’t verify their identity online, they would have to provide documentation in person at a field office, which creates a very real barrier for claimants who have limited mobility.
In a memo viewed by the Washington Post, authored by Doris Diaz, the acting deputy commissioner for operations at SSA, the estimated number of customers that would have to go in person due to the new restrictions is estimated around 75,000 to 85,000. The memo also raised concerns about longer wait times and processing time, “increased demand for office appointments” and “increased foot traffic,” as well as “operational strain.”
These changes were proposed after DOGE made false statements that undocumented immigrants are fraudulently accessing Social Security, as reported by NBC News.