Big Take Trump’s Plan to Dismantle the Department of Education
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Feb 19, 2026 Liam Knox, Bloomberg education reporter who covers U.S. education policy, offers on-the-ground reporting and analysis. He outlines a three-step plan to shrink the Education Department. He walks through program transfers, staffing shakeups, legal and operational risks. He connects the playbook to broader efforts that could reshape other federal agencies.
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Career Staff Warned By A Senator's Office
- Barbara Hoblitzel heard about incoming layoffs and then received a call from a Republican senator's office upset about cuts to the Office of Indian Education.
- That exchange signaled to her the depth and breadth of the department's dismantling plans under the administration.
Why The Education Department Was Created
- The Department of Education centralized many programs after civil rights and anti-poverty efforts expanded federal involvement in schooling.
- Its creation in 1979 consolidated federal programs to enforce equal access and manage growing national education responsibilities.
Small Staff, Huge Financial Reach
- The Education Department is the smallest cabinet agency by staff, but it oversees massive federal education funding and a $1.6–$1.7 trillion student loan portfolio.
- Most of that money flows to states and schools, so the department's personnel are small relative to the funds it administers.