News Summary

• The U.S. Department of Education used to employ people whose job was to stop waste, fraud, and abuse.
• Now almost all of their desks are empty.
• In March, the newly confirmed secretary of education, Linda McMahon, fired more than 80 percent of the fraud-prevention and quality-assurance team.
• The move was one part of a massive series of layoffs that cut employment at the department by nearly 50 percent compared with the beginning of the year.
• Trump promised to trim the federal bureaucracy.
• In this case, he has instead defunded the police.