The Trump administration wasted $38 million in taxpayer money paying investigators not to work while they dismantled the Department of Education and dismissed 90% of discrimination cases without review.
It’s no surprise that the Trump administration rejects claims that students are being discriminated against.
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The hypocrisy of an administration that claims to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse, wasting taxpayer dollars to pursue an ideological agenda, is obvious.
Senator Sanders ordered a GAO Report who found in part:
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In March 2025, after the administration attempted to lay off nearly half of OCR’s workforce, those employees were kept on paid administrative leave for nine months, costing taxpayers up to $38 million while investigators were prevented from doing their jobs.
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During the Trump government shutdown in 2025, the administration proposed a second round of layoffs, reducing OCR to just 10% of its previous capacity.
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In December, the administration reversed course and reinstated the staff, ending the lawsuits, but some of the damage could not be repaired. Today, there are far fewer investigators serving our students than in 2024.
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During that time, Americans filed more than 9,000 discrimination complaints with OCR — and about 90 percent were dismissed without review.
The American people would not know that the administration is promoting discrimination and dismantling accountability without the efforts of members of the Senate Democratic caucus like Bernie Sanders.
Senator Sanders said:
Every child in America should be able to receive a good education, no matter where they live, what their religious beliefs are, or whether or not they have a disability.
Instead, the Trump administration fired half of the Department of Education employees who worked to protect students’ civil rights and wasted up to $38 million in taxpayer money by preventing investigators from doing their jobs. This is unacceptable.
Sanders made an important point.
Many students who face discrimination have disabilities. Accommodations for people with disabilities are required by law, but now students who face discrimination based on their disability, race or religion will have no recourse because Trump has dismantled the government’s investigative tools.
When people get frustrated and tell Democrats to DO SOMETHING, they don’t know or understand that Democrats and their independent allies are using all the power they have to hold this administration accountable.
The American people need to know that this administration enables discrimination against students, and that is why the reports and letters written by elected Democrats and members of their independent caucus are so critical.
What do you think of the report commissioned by Senator Sanders? Share your thoughts in the comments below.