Former Small Business Administration Administrator Linda McMahon speaking with attendees at the 2021 Young Women’s Leadership Summit hosted by Turning Point USA at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center in Grapevine, Texas.President Donald Trump has long said that the Department of Education is a bloated bureaucracy that drains taxpayer dollars while producing little measurable improvement in America’s classrooms.This week, that promise to shrink Washington’s footprint in education took another step forward when the Department of Education laid off nearly 460 employees, cutting roughly a fifth of its workforce. The most significant reductions came from the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services and from staff tied to the TRIO college access program.WATCH: Foreign Billionaire Funneled $513 Million to Antifa GroupsCritics, including the teachers unions, immediately claimed the layoffs would “harm students.” But the reality is the opposite. For decades, Washington has grown into a sprawling, inefficient machine that spends billions on oversight and compliance while leaving states, districts, and families to deal with endless red tape. President Trump is confronting a fundamental truth: education works best when power rests with parents, local schools, and states, not unaccountable bureaucrats in D.C.The president’s executive order to begin phasing out the Department altogether is part of a broader strategy to return authority where it belongs. Republicans have long argued that the federal government has overstepped its role in education, dictating rules and mandates that cost schools money but do little to help students. By streamlining federal involvement, Trump is ensuring that resources flow directly to the classroom, not to offices stacked with political appointees and lifetime administrators.Education Secretary Linda McMahon has made clear that students with disabilities will remain a top priority.In fact, she has suggested that oversight of disability programs could be better managed at the Department of Health and Human Services, where medical and rehabilitation expertise already exist. Rather than duplicating services in multiple agencies, consolidating them under one roof ensures more accountability and less waste. That’s the kind of common-sense reform Washington has resisted for decades, and it’s why Republicans support the president’s efforts.This CULT is funded by foreign billionaire Christopher Hohn, who has spent more than $500 MILLION on extremist Antifa radical groups for his own political gain.He’s funneled money into organizations with ties to the CCP, groups openly working to undermine America from within. pic.twitter.com/DbXiNoDZvM— Gregory Lyakhov (@GregoryLyakhov) October 11, 2025Democrats, meanwhile, have chosen obstruction. Instead of working with Trump to modernize education funding, they have forced a prolonged government shutdown that has furloughed nearly 90% of the Department’s remaining staff. By protecting bloated agencies, Democrats are hurting the very students they claim to defend. Families deserve better than endless bureaucracy and political theater.President Trump’s move is a reminder of why voters elected him in the first place: to challenge the entrenched Washington system and put power back in the hands of the people. By reducing the size of the Department of Education, he is cutting waste, saving taxpayer money, and opening the door for real reform that empowers parents and students. This is the conservative vision for education—less bureaucracy, more freedom, and better results for America’s children.The post Trump FIRES 20% of Department of Education Employees appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.