US Education Department to Cut Half its Staff As Trump Eyes Its

Department offices purchased closed down till Thursday


Agencies cut workers using lump-sum payments, early retirement


Thursday is deadline to send prepare for massive layoffs


(Adds brand-new government report on improper payments, paragraphs 12-14)


By Timothy Gardner, Tim Reid, Alexandra Alper and Marisa Taylor


WASHINGTON, March 11 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Education stated on Tuesday it would lay off almost half its staff, a possible precursor to closing entirely, as government agencies scrambled to satisfy President Donald Trump's due date to submit prepare for a 2nd round of mass layoffs.


The terminations become part of the department's "final objective," it said in a press release, alluding to Trump's vow to remove the department, which supervises $1.6 trillion in college loans, imposes civil liberties laws in schools and provides federal financing for clingy districts.


Asked on Fox News whether the shootings would result in the department's dismantling, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon stated "yes," adding that doing so "was the president's required." The layoffs would leave the department with 2,183 employees, down from 4,133 when Trump took workplace in January.


Before revealing the layoffs, the firm purchased offices in the Washington location closed to personnel from Tuesday night through Wednesday, according to an internal notice seen by Reuters. An Education Department spokesperson did not right away react to questions about the nature of the security concerns prompting the closures.


Similar closures functioned as a precursor to shuttering the head office of the U.S. Agency for International Development, the humanitarian help firm, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which safeguards Americans against dishonest lending institutions.