A detailed plan to shut down the Education Department, with over 4,000 employees, is on its way to being launched, reports American media.
The two-step plan involves first ordering the department to draw up a plan to wind down operations, writes Politico, citing sources. Then, they will go through which laws are required to delegate work to other authorities and shut down. Many employees are said to have already been relieved of their duties.
The decision is expected to be made by presidential decree within a month.
Stop Working
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has, in turn, been taken over by Trump's new finance minister Scott Bessent since its chief was fired over the weekend. In an internal email, which NPR has obtained, Bessent orders employees to cease most of their work: No regulations are to be issued, no settlements are to be made (CFPB has sued several major banks and retail companies), and no communication with the public is allowed.
"I look forward to working with CFPB to implement President Trump's agenda to reduce Americans' costs and accelerate economic growth," says Bessent in a statement.
Pivotal Promise
There is also great concern at the National Park Service, the authority responsible for the many national parks in the USA, according to media. This is in light of the Trump administration's hiring freeze, which will come into effect during the spring and summer season, when many temporary workers are usually recruited. The offer made last week to nearly 2 million government employees to keep their salaries until September in exchange for resignation has further increased anxiety.
Streamlining the government apparatus and reducing expenditures was one of Donald Trump's most prominent campaign promises. The appointment of super-entrepreneur Elon Musk as leader of the White House initiative Doge, which will work on government efficiency, is an important part of this. Over the weekend, Musk shut down the USA's aid agency USAID, with over 10,000 employees.
