On October 15, 2025, a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to immediately stop the mass firing of federal employees during the current government shutdown caused by Congress’ impasse over fiscal year 2026 funding. The Trump administration cannot issue any additional reduction in force (RIF) notices, and it cannot enforce the notices already issued, according to the ruling from Judge Susan Illston of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
The U.S. Department of Education (USDE) began the year with about 4,133 employees and the latest estimate is that about 2,000 remain after the last round of RIFs. Special Education offices have been particularly hard.
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