Education Secretary McMahon moves dozens of programs to other agencies as department shrinks

Education Secretary Linda McMahon explained that moving functions to other federal bodies will create a more efficient system and cut federal bureaucracy, citing the Economy Act as the legal basis for inter-agency agreements. The effort follows a 2025 executive order directing the department’s closure to the greatest extent permitted by law, a move she describes as the agency’s “final mission.” Since then, the department’s workforce has been cut from roughly 4,100 employees to about 2,200 after voluntary buyouts and layoffs upheld by the Supreme Court.

Through a series of inter-agency agreements, over 100 programs—including most Title I and other K-12 grant operations—have been shifted to the Labor Department, and portions of the student-loan portfolio have been transferred to the Treasury Department. More than $1 billion in contracts and grants have been terminated as part of the restructuring. Parents have voiced concerns that recent remote-learning experiences showed a focus on propaganda rather than core academic skills, fueling the push for greater parental control and state authority over education.