A December report from the Bipartisan Policy Center notes that, while the Trump administration has appeared to reduce roughly by half the number of employees at the Education Department, the Cabinet department remains a big spender. The report explains:

With a discretionary budget of $79.6 in Fiscal Year 2025, the Department of Education has a larger budget than all agencies except Defense, Health and Human Services, and Veterans Affairs. This funding includes grants from the federal government to states and school districts. The discretionary budget does not include its federal student aid spending, which is mandatory spending that does not have to be appropriated by Congress each year.

A December report from the Bipartisan Policy Center notes that, while the Trump administration has appeared to reduce roughly by half the number of employees at the Education Department, the Cabinet department remains a big spender. The report explains:

With a discretionary budget of $79.6 in Fiscal Year 2025, the Department of Education has a larger budget than all agencies except Defense, Health and Human Services, and Veterans Affairs. This funding includes grants from the federal government to states and school districts. The discretionary budget does not include its federal student aid spending, which is mandatory spending that does not have to be appropriated by Congress each year.