Dozens of supporters rallied outside the Department of Education’s D.C. headquarters on Tuesday morning as the agency faces cuts and even possible dismantling under President Donald Trump’s administration.
The rally came before staffers were instructed to leave work by 6 p.m. and told their offices would be closed for “security reasons” Wednesday.
Supporters waved signs reading “SOS Save Our Schools” and “Stop the Coup” while chanting “Kids Deserve Better” at the “Speak Up for ED rally” outside the offices on Maryland Avenue Southwest.
Anthony Badial-Luna, an Air Force veteran, told the crowd he’d been working at the Education Department in February when he was fired after one month.
“Today, I’m speaking out to give a voice to every unjustly fired federal employee to stand in solidarity with my fellow veterans, who have quickly learned that our country cares only about us while we’re willing to die for them,” Badial-Luna said. “But as soon as we leave, we no longer matter. We’re disposable. These mass layoffs are disrespectful and undignified.”
Other speakers, such as Katy Gates, a Georgetown University graduate student and activist, touted the department’s civil rights investigations.
Gates referred to an investigation in her home school district in Georgia surrounding banned books. It was dismissed in January.
“Every day that investigations are delayed or dismissed is another day that a student has to see their abuser in their classroom,” Gates said. “It’s another day that a student is subjected to racist threats that school officials ignore.”
Jeanette Lim Esbrook, a former deputy assistant secretary at the Department of Education, also spoke about the constitutionality of Trump’s proposals.
“I’m here to tell Trump and Musk that they cannot dismantle this department. The department was created by Congress, and it can only be dismantled by Congress,” Esbrook said.
National Education Association President Becky Pringle said any funding that stops coming from the federal government will hit teachers hardest.
“The teachers and bus drivers and the food service workers who feed our kids,” Pringle said. “They’re the ones who stand in the gaps.”
Critics of the department say it disrupts local and state autonomy for education. They also argue that programs from the department have affected parental rights at public schools.
Last week, Trump said he wants his new Education Secretary Linda McMahon to “put herself out of a job.”
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