Gov. Tim Walz slams Trump administration for federal education layoffs, fears future funding cuts

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said school districts across the state will feel the loss of expertise after mass layoffs in the U.S. Department of Education, a move that’s stoking uncertainty over the future of the agency and federal funding for state schools.

The federal department announced layoffs of more than 1,300 workers on Tuesday — or about half of the agency’s workforce — and the termination of offices and leases in cities from Chicago to Boston.

President Donald Trump has said he wants to eventually dismantle the entire agency, which helps administer programs and distribute federal funds to schools across the country.

“You tell me how what they are doing yesterday and today improves one student’s education or saves one damn penny,” Walz said Wednesday from Hayes Elementary School in Fridley. “What they’re trying to do is cut the money and do tax cuts.”

Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a statement that the reductions are “ensuring that resources are directed where they matter most: to students, parents and teachers.”

Walz, a former teacher, said school districts rely on federal workers with decades of experience to help distribute critical funds to state schools.

“The Department of Education is filled with experts and people who have the ability to target what we need to do and what we’ve learned over the years to deliver a higher quality of education,” said Walz, a Democrat.

The Trump administration “randomly cut experts that are impacting our students,” he added.

Minnesota receives about $1.4 billion in federal funding for school districts, or about 10% of the state’s overall education budget. Despite layoffs, federal officials said the agency would continue to distribute federal aid to schools, as well as student loan management and oversight of Pell Grants.

But Walz said they are firing workers who help administer competitive grants, and he’s worried the way the department will operate going forward will be an ideological “litmus test” for funding.

“If you agree with them, they’ll give you the money,” he said.

The Trump administration has threatened to pull federal funding from schools and colleges that don’t disband diversity programs.

Walz’s office said the state receives $256 million in federal funding for students with disabilities and more than $192 million to support students from low-income backgrounds, among other programs.

Minnesota Department of Education Commissioner Willie Jett said his agency asked the federal government for clarity on the impact to the state if the federal agency is dissolved, but hasn’t heard anything back.

“So far we have received no answers,” he said. “Uncertainty is not a strategy.”

The Trump administration has said responsibilities like civil rights enforcement and student disability rights oversight could be transferred to other agencies, such as the Department of Health and Human Services.

Education is one of the largest portions of the state’s two-year budget, and Walz said the state doesn’t have enough money to backfill large losses in federal funding.

“We don’t have the capacity if they follow through with this,” he said.