Trump continues shrinking the Education Department, but full closure remains uncertain

President Donald Trump has continued to pursue his campaign promise to abolish the U.S. Education Department. Despite the department continuing to shrink, it hasn't disappeared entirely. 

At the beginning of Trump's second term in January, the department had about 4,100 employees. In March, the Trump administration cut that roughly in half through layoffs and early retirement offers. Some of those layoffs were slowed or paused because of court cases. In one major decision, the Supreme Court allowed the administration to go forward with laying off nearly 1,400 workers. 

But even amid the cuts, the department brought back some staffers to help work through a backlog of civil rights complaints. 

On Nov. 18, the Education Department signed six new agreements with other federal agencies -– including the departments of Labor, Interior, Health and Human Services, and State — to take over some program responsibilities. 

The department said these agreements were meant to "break up the federal education bureaucracy" and make some services run more efficiently by putting parts of them under agencies with relevant expertise. 

Education Secretary Linda McMahon said the partnerships are part of the administration's plan to "return education to the states" by cutting red tape in Washington. That language echoes Trump's long-standing goal of reducing the department. 

Despite the staff shrinkage and outsourcing, these changes haven't closed the department outright, and it's not yet clear how much work or staff will move to the other agencies. The Education Department says it will still keep overall policy responsibility and oversight, even as other departments assume some tasks.

The Education Department still runs many big federal programs, including student financial aid and civil rights enforcement, and it continues to issue rules and decisions on matters like loan repayment plans and grant awards. It also still employs thousands of people who make those programs work. 

So while the Supreme Court's decision to allow mass layoffs represented a significant development in the administration's efforts to shrink the agency, the department's closure is — for now — partial, and only Congress can legally abolish the department. 

For now, this promise remains In the Works.