June 23, 2026
Media contact: Dorie Turner Nolt, dorie.turner@gmail.com, 404-861-1127
American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 252, which represents 2,000 U.S. Department of Education current, unlawfully terminated, and retired employees, released the following statement from AFGE Local 252 President Rachel Gittleman about a new report from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of the Inspector General on the changes in staffing and operations at the agency since January 2025:
“This confirms what we’ve been saying all along: The Trump Administration has been systematically destroying the Education Department. The courts agree, Congress agrees, and now the agency’s own Inspector General gives the public the fullest picture to date of the devastation Education Secretary Linda McMahon has wrought: the massive staff cuts, the programmatic eliminations, the billions in grant funding slashed from programs that serve students, families, and teachers across the country. The Inspector General makes clear that the Department can no longer do its job — it cannot fulfill its congressionally mandated duties, prevent waste, fraud, and abuse, or follow federal law.
“What’s more, the list of cuts makes the story even clearer: The Secretary gutted the Department’s programs helping historically underserved students, but she kept the entire legislative affairs office so someone was available to peddle lies to Congress that everything is fine. Let me be clear: Nothing is fine, and this report proves it.”
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AFGE Local 252 