The Department of Education will shutter offices in Washington, D.C., and around the country on Wednesday, according to multiple reports of an internal email — and it’s not clear why, other than a vague reference to “security reasons.”
The agency did not respond to HuffPost’s request for comment.
The email, which went out Tuesday and was signed by James Hairfield from the Office of Security, Facilities and Logistics, told employees they may telework on Wednesday.
“Employees will not be permitted in any ED facility on Wednesday, March 12th, for any reason,” it said.
The reports come as the federal agency, which began operating in 1980, is under broad attacks from the Trump administration and the wider conservative movement. On the campaign trail, President Donald Trump frequently lambasted the department falsely claiming it was indoctrinating students and promised to abolish it.
Secretary of Education Linda McMahon supports Trump’s plan for dismantling the department and just hours after being confirmed e-mailed staffers about the beginning of her agency’s “final mission.”
Trump is also reportedly preparing an executive order that would dismantle the department, although the move would require an act of Congress. But as much of the fate of the agency remains unclear, the Department of Government Efficiency, the Elon Musk-led advisory board has startled lawmakers and angered educators by infiltrating its offices and slashing contracts.
The political appointees at the agency have already released memos vowing to implement Trump’s agenda, and targeted schools and universities they believe are not aligned with right-wing views on diversity, transgender athletes, combating anti-semitism.
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It’s all a part of the yearslong culture wars that have been animating the right. Since the racial justice protests in the wake of the murder of George Floyd swept the country followed by the coronavirus pandemic shuttering schools, far-right activists have been hellbent on reshaping the nation’s public schools. They have banned books, fought to have transgender kids banned from using the bathroom and playing on sports teams that match their gender identity, and accused teachers of forcing left-wing ideology on children.