Tipsheet

DOGE Has Their Next Target, and Libs Are Bound to Freak Out

Matt Vespa
Matt Vespa  |  February 03, 2025 3:45 PM

The Department of Government Efficiency has been on a tear in DC. They’re acting like they have a mandate from the 2024 election, and they do. They’re uprooting, exposing, and shining light on the numerous pipelines of government waste and left-wing extremism that’s infected DC. They’re also clearing up many administrative issues, like worthless leases on barely used government offices. 

The DC bureaucratic class has tried to fight back. They can’t win. Those who stand in DOGE’s way are put on administrative leave. Give them access to the systems or else. Treasury, USAID, and the Small Business Administration are undergoing renovations, but the Department of Education is reportedly the next target for a dressing down (via WSJ): 

Trump administration officials are weighing executive actions to dismantle the Education Department as part of the campaign by billionaire Elon Musk and his allies to shrink federal agencies and slash the size of the government workforce. 

The officials have discussed an executive order that would shut down all functions of the agency that aren’t written explicitly into statute or move certain functions to other departments, according to people familiar with the matter. The order would call for developing a legislative proposal to abolish the department, the people said. Trump’s advisers are still debating the specifics of the order and the timing, the people said.  

The White House didn’t respond to a request for comment.  

The order would be a step toward fulfilling a Trump campaign promise to eliminate the department, limit federal involvement in education and give more authority to the states. Conservatives were sharply critical of the Education Department under the Biden administration, particularly decisions to forgive student loans and to extend sex-discrimination protections in education to LGBTQ people. The conservative Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 also called for eliminating the department. 

Some administration officials, including the team working with Education Secretary nominee Linda McMahon, say the White House should wait to release any executive order until after McMahon’s Senate confirmation hearing, people familiar with the matter said. McMahon’s hearing hasn’t been scheduled, as the Senate is awaiting her ethics paperwork. Some Trump advisers worried that the White House’s recent freeze on federal assistance complicated Russell Vought’s confirmation as director of the Office of Management and Budget, and they are eager to avoid a similar scenario that could endanger McMahon. 

The department won’t be shut down entirely as that would require an act of Congress, but this is a major hallowing out, and it’s due. It’s dependent on Trump's executive order. Cue the meltdowns when it's made official.

We’ll keep you updated, but you know this is coming. Before the close of business last Friday, dozens of staffers were told they'd been placed on administrative leave (via ABC News):

Dozens of Department of Education employees received letters as business hours closed Friday placing them on administrative leave, according to a copy of one letter obtained by ABC News. 

While no specific reason was given, some employees told ABC News they believe the only common thread among them is that they attended a voluntary training called the "Diversity Change-Agent Training Program." 

The letter states that the administrative leave notice is not for disciplinary purposes. Rather, it's being issued under President Donald Trump's executive order on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and "further guidance" from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, according to the letter.

Per the letter, employees will receive full pay and benefits through the end of the administrative leave. They are not required to do work-related tasks during this time, nor are they required to come into the office. Employees who were placed on leave also had their government email access suspended as they received the letters. There's no set time for the leave period, according to the letter.