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patty murray
US Lawmakers Rip Trump's Plan to Destroy Department of Education
"We will not stand by and allow the impact that dismantling the Department of Education would have on the nation's students, parents, borrowers, educators, and communities."
Feb 06, 2025
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders on Thursday led five members of Congress in a warning against the Trump administration's plan to "unilaterally dismantle" the Department of Education and demanded answers from the acting head of the agency about recent moves "to put federal workers on administrative leave, coerce employees into leaving their jobs, provide access to students' sensitive data, and illegally freeze vital funding."
"Over the course of two weeks, the Trump administration issued sweeping executive orders and sought to broadly and illegally freeze federal financial assistance," the lawmakers—Sanders (I-Vt.), Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.), and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.)—wrote in a letter to acting Education Secretary Denise Carter.
"Federal employees have been targeted, in some cases for simply following the law. Elon Musk is attempting to shut down the work of entire agencies while gaining access to some of the federal government's most far-reaching and sensitive data systems. Media reports indicate a similar effort may be underway at the Department of Education," the lawmakers noted.
The letter continues:
The Department [of Education] has been a target of President [Donald] Trump and his unelected advisers since even prior to his inauguration. And recently, the department has put workers on administrative leave for attending trainings promoted by former Secretary Betsy DeVos, once touted among results achieved by the department, and coerced employees into leaving their jobs. Workers at the department—like those across the government—have been made to fear their jobs will be reclassified so that they lose employment protections. Some staff from the entity referred to as the Department of Government Efficiency have reportedly gained access to internal department data systems, including financial aid systems that include personally identifiable information on millions of students. These actions appear to be part of a broader plan to dismantle the federal government until it is unable to function and meet the needs of the American people.
"We will not stand by and allow this to happen to the nation's students, parents, borrowers, educators, and communities," the lawmakers stressed. "Congress created the department to ensure all students in America have equal access to a high-quality education and that their civil rights are protected no matter their ZIP code."
"We urge you to provide information on the steps the department is taking to ensure the continuity of programs that Americans depend on, the ability of the department to effectively administer programs for their intended purposes without waste, fraud, and abuse, and the safeguards in place to protect student data privacy," the legislators added.
Specifically, the letter asks for a list of officials "who have been granted access to personally identifiable or sensitive information," an "explanation of all steps the department has taken to protect" such data, the names of "all individuals placed on administrative leave or terminated" since Trump took office and all department communications to such employees, and confirmation that the department "has not frozen, paused, impeded, blocked, canceled, or terminated any awards or obligations since January 20."
The lawmakers' letter came on the same day that nearly 100 Democratic members of the House of Representatives wrote to Carter requesting a meeting to discuss "reports that the Trump administration has plans to illegally dismantle or drastically reduce" the Department of Education via executive order.
Both letters came ahead of next week's scheduled Senate confirmation hearing for Linda McMahon, a top fundraiser for Trump's campaign whom the president subsequently nominated for education secretary. McMahon—a billionaire who led the Small Business Administration during Trump's first term—is expected to face tough questions from Democratic senators about what one campaigner called her "documented history of enabling sexual abuse of children and sweeping sexual violence under the rug" during her tenure as World Wrestling Entertainment CEO.
The very future of the Department of Education is uncertain, as Trump has repeatedly vowed to abolish the agency, which was established during the administration of President Jimmy Carter in 1979.
"I told Linda, 'Linda, I hope you do a great job and put yourself out of a job,'" Trump quipped earlier this week.
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Trump's Firing of Labor Officials Shows He 'Could Not Care Less About Rights of Workers'
"Trump and Republicans are hell-bent on launching an all-out assault on working people and their rights—they're just hoping we don't notice," said Democratic Sen. Patty Murray.
Jan 29, 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump's firing of officials on the National Labor Relations Board and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission earlier this week marks another clear indication that he "could not care less about the rights of workers," a top Democratic senator remarked late Tuesday as the implications of the president's moves set in.
"I am extremely alarmed by the unprecedented firings of EEOC commissioners and NLRB members without cause—these are yet more lawless actions by a president who thinks he is above the law," Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said of Trump's termination of EEOC commissioner Jocelyn Samuels, former EEOC chair Charlotte Burrows, NLRB member Gwynne Wilcox, and NLRB general counsel Jennifer Abruzzo—decisions that are expected to spark legal fights.
"These brazen firings undermine not only the will of Congress but these agencies' critical work fighting on behalf of workers across the country," Murray added. "Trump and Republicans are hell-bent on launching an all-out assault on working people and their rights—they're just hoping we don't notice."
Trump's firing of Wilcox and Abruzzo—champions of workers' rights—halted the NLRB's ability to issue decisions, as the board is now without a quorum.
"The board reviews rulings by in-house judges in cases brought by the general counsel," Reutersnoted. "Until it does, those orders cannot be enforced."
News of the firings—which could have sweeping implications for the future of the NLRB and organizing rights—came on the same day the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released fresh data showing that the share of workers who were union members in 2024 fell to a new low of 9.9% even as public support for unions climbed to 70%, close to a record high.
The Economic Policy Institute noted that "although the latest BLS data show a decline in the unionization rate, many workers continued to make organizing gains within auto manufacturing, hospitality, public education, and healthcare."
AFL-CIO president Liz Shuler warned in a statement Tuesday that Trump's firing of Wilcox—who, under federal law, cannot be fired on political grounds—"is illegal and will have immediate consequences for working people."
"By leaving only two board members in their posts, the president has effectively shut down the National Labor Relations Board's operations, leaving the workers it defends on their own in the face of union-busting and retaliation," said Shuler. "Alongside the firing of NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo, these moves will make it easier for bosses to violate the law and trample on workers' legal rights on the job and fundamental freedom to organize."
"Member Wilcox has already indicated she will challenge her firing," Shuler added, "and we fully expect she will succeed in the courts and be restored to her position so she can continue to be a critical pro-worker voice on the NLRB."
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'Five-Alarm Fire': Trump's Federal Funding Pause Sparks Fear and Confusion
"It's simply a shocking power grab by the president that will sow chaos in the economy and around the globe," said one advocate.
Jan 28, 2025
Calling a federal grant and loan funding freeze announced by the Trump administration "a massive, massive overreach," U.S. Sen. Patty Murray was among those expressing fury on Tuesday over a move that could have far-reaching implications for millions of Americans who rely on federal food assistance and education and healthcare programs, among other necessities.
"We are talking about our small towns, our cities, our schools, our universities, and a lot more," said Murray (D-Wash.). "Will local Head Start facilities get their funding? Will grantees at our local universities get the funding that they use to continue clinical trials? What does this mean for our homeless veterans we are working to get housed?"
The senator, who serves as vice chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, was speaking at a press conference given by Democratic leaders Tuesday morning, hours after the acting director of Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Matthew Vaeth, sent a memo to the heads of all government agencies announcing an imminent pause on all federal grants and loans.
The Trump administration's move was ideologically driven, the memo suggests, with each federal agency required to conduct a "comprehensive analysis" in the coming weeks to ensure its grant and loan initiatives operate within the bounds of President Donald Trump's executive orders banning diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, denying the existence of transgender people, and limiting spending on renewable energy.
"The use of federal resources to advance Marxist equity, transgenderism, and Green New Deal social engineering policies is a waste of taxpayer dollars that does not improve the day-to-day lives of those we serve," reads Vaeth's memo. "This temporary pause will provide the administration time to review agency programs and determine the best uses of the funding for those programs consistent with the law and the president's priorities."
Murray called on Americans to "ask themselves: Is it 'woke' to fund cancer research or to rebuild an unsafe bridge? All of these critical priorities are funded by the grants the Trump administration would pause tonight... The American people did not vote for this kind of senseless chaos."
The precise impact of the administration's order, which is set to go into effect at 5:00 pm ET on Tuesday, is not made clear by the memo, but Vaeth stated that the federal government spent more than $3 trillion in fiscal year 2024 on federal financial assistance including grants and loans.
The memo says the funding pause should not be "construed" to include Social Security or Medicare and "does not include assistance provided directly to individuals"—but Democratic lawmakers and economic justice advocates were quick to point out that millions of people will be affected, including those whose paychecks depend on federal funding.
Diane Yentel, the president and CEO of the National Council of Nonprofits, called the memo "a potential five-alarm fire for nonprofits and the people and communities they serve."
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) warned that "no one should believe" the funding freeze is temporary, and said it was illegal to pull back funding that has already been appropriated by Congress.
" Donald Trump must direct his administration to reverse course immediately and the taxpayers' money should be distributed to the people," said Schumer. "Congress approved these investments and they are not optional; they are the law... These grants help people in red states and blue states, support families, help parents raise kids, and lead to stronger communities."
The pause, he said, "will mean missed payrolls and rent payments and everything in between: chaos for everything from universities to nonprofit charities."
Yasmina Vinci, the executive director of the National Head Start Association, which provides early childhood education to low-income families, said the funding pause "at best, will slow down Head Start agencies' ability to pay hundreds of thousands of staff, contractors, and small businesses who support Head Start operations in every corner of the country."
"At worst, this means that hundreds of thousands of families will not be able to depend on the critical services and likely will not be able to work," said Vinci.
Dom Kelly, co-founder and president of New Disabled South, a disability justice advocacy group, said he confirmed the funding freeze will apply to Centers for Independent Living, which serve people with disabilities.
While the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, and the Women, Infants, and Children nutritional program include benefits that are distributed to individuals, Kelly noted that the programs are implemented by state and local governments—so the memo's impact on them is unclear.
What is clear, said Kitty Richards, senior fellow at Groundwork Collaborative, was that "this blatantly illegal and authoritarian act threatens programs and aid that millions of families rely on."
"Working people could lose their healthcare," said Richards. "Lifesaving research will stop. People won't know the status of their student loans. Kids could go hungry. And there's no reason to believe that this will be temporary. It's simply a shocking power grab by the president that will sow chaos in the economy and around the globe. This is exactly what Trump's extremist allies planned for his presidency. Now they're trying to make it a reality."
Lee Saunders, president of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), pointed out that the OMB threatened the funding just as the Senate "confirmed a billionaire hedge fund manager to run the Treasury Department.
He also noted the Senate is preparing to confirm Trump's pick to lead OMB, Russell Vought, "the architect of Project 2025, who will immediately seek to slash public services to hand out trillions in tax cuts to his wealthy friends."
"Billionaires and their anti-union extremist friends have amassed more power and influence than ever," said Saunders, "and they are using it now to rob working people."
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