For all the latest developments in Congress, follow WTOP Capitol Hill correspondent Mitchell Miller at Today on the Hill.
Department of Education employees have been given until 11:59 p.m. Monday to decide whether to accept a buyout offer of up to $25,000, ahead of what are expected to be widespread layoffs.
The one-time offer was made in an email to agency employees on Friday. Employees will receive what is effectively severance pay or $25,000, whichever is less. It would take effect on March 31.
President Donald Trump and many Republicans want to get rid of the Department of Education, though Democratic lawmakers have said that would take an act of Congress.
The Trump administration has begun implementing widespread cuts and canceled hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of contracts.
While the buyout was on the table, the U.S. Senate voted Monday evening to confirm Linda McMahon as the education secretary.
The vote was 51-45.
During her confirmation hearing, she said she understood her role as someone who will work to wind down the agencies’ responsibilities.
“I am really all for the president’s mission, which is to return education to the states,” McMahon said.
McMahon, 76, is the former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). She served for a year on the state board of education in Connecticut. Democratic lawmakers are critical of the administration’s effort to thin the agency’s ranks and cut various education programs.
They include U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-VA., who is a member of the Senate Health, Education and Labor Committee (HELP).
“While I find some areas of common ground with Ms. McMahon, especially our support for robust career and technical education, I cannot vote for a Secretary of Education nominee who will willfully assist Donald Trump in abolishing the very Department she seeks to lead,” Kaine said in a statement.
The Education Department is the smallest of the cabinet-level agencies, with just over 4,200 employees.
For decades, many congressional Republicans have argued that it should be abolished, saying it creates another unneeded layer of bureaucracy.
But its supporters counter that it provides widespread support to numerous state and local education systems, including for millions of students with disabilities.
Federal workers and government contractors – we want to hear from you. With the recent job cuts, what work is no longer getting done at agencies? What programs were you working on that have been cut? Send us a voicemail through the WTOP News app, available on Apple or Android. Click the “Feedback” button in the app’s navigation bar.
Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.
© 2025 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
