Despite new hiring, Education Department responsibilities continue to shrink

As President Donald Trump continues to dismantle the U.S. Education Department, the agency has simultaneously hired new staff and outsourced an increasing share of its responsibilities.

The Trump administration roughly halved the department's workforce in March 2025. For the 2026 fiscal year, officials requested enough money to employ 2,176 people.

In July 2025, the Supreme Court lifted an injunction on firing the roughly 1,400 people who were initially laid off.

Nearly a year later, there are signs that the department has shifted away from outright closure despite downsizing efforts.

Internal documents obtained by NPR in May show the department's Office of Federal Student Aid was adding 380 workers.

Also in May, Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in House testimony that the department was rehiring attorneys for its civil rights office. The agency brought back staff from paid administrative leave to work through a backlog of civil rights cases.

However, The Associated Press reported June 16 that the Justice Department would take over the Education Department's civil rights enforcement. The Health and Human Services Department would take over special education.

Those moves come after other core department functions already had been outsourced to other agencies.

Several of the department's main responsibilities, including management of student loans, moved to the Treasury Department under an interagency agreement in March. An Education Department spokesperson told NPR the agreement would allow the office to continue managing federal student aid programs.

The Education Department struck nine other deals to shift responsibilities.

The agency also announced in March that it plans to move out of its headquarters into a smaller office later this year.

The White House did not respond to requests for comment.

A department spokesperson responded to our inquiry but did not answer questions about whether the department will be closing, why the department was hiring or if more layoffs are on the horizon. The spokesperson reiterated that the department is maintaining its responsibilities and partnering with other agencies.

Trump's budget proposal for the upcoming fiscal year would cut the department's spending by 2.9%. The budget summary says the proposal puts the Education Department "on a path to elimination."

Government Executive reported the budget proposal would result in 500 fewer employees.

Congress does not have to follow a president's proposal — the House Appropriations Committee approved a bill that makes a 10% cut to the department instead. It must pass the full House, receive Senate approval and gain the president's signature to become law.

Only Congress can abolish the department, and there has been no progress on that front in the House and Senate.

Downsizing the Education Department is different from abolition, but given the continued efforts to reassign its responsibilities, it remains on the path to be dismantled. We continue to rate this promise In the Works.