Education Department staff cuts have hurt service rather than streamlined bureaucracy, say opponents on 1-year mark of RIFs

A year ago Wednesday, Rachel Gittleman lost her position at the Education Department “after three months of uncertainty, fear and an astounding pressure to leave [her] favorite job.” 

“I received an email from the agency, stating that I was being fired and my organizational unit was being abolished to make the government more efficient,” said Gittleman, who is also the president of American Federation of Government Employees Local 252, which represents Education Department employees. 

Because her access to government systems was almost immediately shut off, Gittleman said she was not able to redirect nearly 400 cases of federal student loan borrowers that she was assisting to remaining coworkers. 

Gittleman is one of several advocates and lawmakers who spoke at a Capitol Hill press conference on Wednesday marking the one-year anniversary of reductions in force at the Education Department that, along with separation incentives, halved the agency’s workforce.   

“When you attack the federal employees who deliver educational services, you're really attacking the American people who are the beneficiaries of those services,” said Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., at the press conference. 

President Donald Trump in March 2025 signed an executive order directing Education Secretary Linda McMahon “to take all necessary steps” to close the department, arguing that the federal role in education should be minimized and that the agency has been largely unsuccessful in its mission. 

Speakers at Wednesday’s press conference, on the other hand, celebrated the administration’s reversals on some planned Education reductions. 

The department brought back hundreds of employees in its Office for Civil Rights. Also, Congress largely rejected Trump’s proposed fiscal 2026 budget cuts to Education, instead essentially keeping the agency’s funding flat. 

But lawmakers on Wednesday criticized interagency agreements that Education is entering into with other agencies to transfer responsibilities out of the department. 

“Know that by getting into these interagency agreements and shoving these programs to departments that do not have the experience or wherewithal to run these programs, [Trump] is setting these programs that our kids rely on up for failure,” said Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, who organized the press conference. 

Senators also emphasized that the administration is still pursuing such agreements, even though the fiscal 2026 Education bill put some restrictions on the operational transfers. 

Allison Socol — a senior official at EdTrust, an education policy nonprofit — argued on Wednesday that, despite the Trump administration’s claims, cuts to the Education Department have not improved its efficiency. As an example, she pointed to a growing backlog in civil rights complaints. 

“When the federal government steps back from protecting education, students don't get less bureaucracy. They get fewer protections and they get fewer supports,” she said. “It doesn't streamline government. It creates confusion for states, chaos for schools and fewer safeguards for the students who need them most.”

The Education Department did not respond to a request for comment. 

Independent oversight 

Also on Wednesday, the Government Accountability Office published a report that found the Education Department in February 2025 cut back oversight of student loan servicers due to reduced staff. The workforce at the Office of Federal Student Aid was nearly halved between January and December 2025, which could increase the risk of “borrowers being billed for incorrect amounts” and “overpaying for poor performance.” 

GAO recommended that Education restore these oversight practices, specifically reviewing accuracy of data and call quality. Department officials disagreed, however, contending that they can rely on other oversight methods to ensure proper performance. 

Likewise, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., on Wednesday announced that GAO, at the request of Democratic senators, initiated an inquiry into interagency agreements between the Education and Labor departments to transfer grant programs.