The Irony of Waste, Fraud, and Abuse in Education Under the Trump Administration
- Janell Weaver
- Feb 4
- 3 min read
The Trump administration campaigned against government waste, fraud, and abuse, promising to cut unnecessary spending and improve efficiency.
Quick reminder- Waste, fraud, and abuse (FWA) constitute the misuse of resources, particularly government or healthcare funds, through careless mismanagement (waste), intentional deception (fraud), or improper, unethical behavior (abuse).
One way they have tried to accomplish reducing FWA is by firing federal employees and closing offices. This has backfired over and over. Here is the latest example of how this administration's indiscriminate RIFs (Reduction in Force) have actually led to more waste and abuse.
In March 2025, while claiming to fight waste, the Trump administration placed 299 of the 575 employees at the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) on administrative leave and closed seven of the twelve regional offices. The laid off staff continued to receive pay and benefits but were not permitted to work. The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) calculated that this cost $28.5 million to $38 million. Thirty-eight million dollars to pay staff while actively blocking them from doing their jobs. That sounds like careless mismanagement (waste).
Quick reminder- "The mission of the Office for Civil Rights is to ensure equal access to education and to promote educational excellence throughout the nation through vigorous enforcement of civil rights." OCR is the enforcer of several Federal civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination in programs or activities that receive federal financial assistance from the Department of Education. This includes discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, and age.
Meanwhile, from March through September 2025, OCR received 9,269 complaints of alleged discrimination. They resolved 7,072. About 90% of those "resolved" cases (6,353) were dismissed without conducting a full investigation or in-depth review. That sounds like improper or unethical behavior (abuse).
Then in December 2025, the Trump administration recalled the staff back to work via email. (Sidenote- While in limbo, 52 of the 299 employees chose to leave.) The email said the Trump administration plans to continue its legal battle to downsize the department, but that "utilizing all OCR employees, including those currently on administrative leave, will bolster and refocus efforts on enforcement activities in a way that serves and benefits parents, students, and families." It is unclear why it took nine months to reach that conclusion.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) recommended the department conduct a complete accounting of the RIF's costs and/or savings, math that they should have done already, but Kimberly Richey (appointed by President Trump to run OCR) says the topic is "moot." I wonder if the families dismissed while seeking resolution of their discrimination complaints feel that the topic is moot.
Isn't it ironic? The Trump administration’s claims of fighting waste and abuse contrast sharply with the reality at OCR. Instead of improving efficiency, their approach created more problems than it solved, leading to:
Inefficiency: Paying employees while forbidding them to work is a clear example of waste.
Neglected responsibilities: Thousands of cases were left unresolved, denying students their right to fair treatment.
Loss of public trust: The public expects government agencies to use funds responsibly and protect citizens’ rights, neither of which happened here.
Or perhaps, it isn't ironic at all. Perhaps the chaos, uncertainty, distrust, and cruelty are the entire point. This administration is determined to shutter the Department of Education, and apparently no cost is too high.
More broadly though, this fiasco is just one more example of the Trump administration's disdain for disabled people. As an advocate, I fight against discrimination and segregation, both subtle and overt, every day. I work for acceptance and meaningful inclusion. Meanwhile, the Trump administration closes offices and eliminates staff meant to enforce this important work. Emboldened by this example, on January 23, 2026 the plaintiffs in the Texas v. Kennedy (formerly Texas v. Becerra) lawsuit, renewed their attack on Section 504. But I digress. That's another topic for another time.
The Trump administration began with a pledge to root out waste, fraud, and abuse, but what happened at OCR shows how hollow that promise was. Millions of dollars wasted, oversight dismantled, and thousands of civil rights complaints (many from disabled students) were simply ignored. This was a predictable outcome of governing by spectacle instead of serious leadership. When you define public servants as the problem and civil rights enforcement as expendable, waste isn’t eliminated, it’s manufactured. And when that cost is placed on vulnerable students and families already pushed to the margins, the real abuse becomes unmistakable. The lesson is clear: if we care about civil rights, accountability, and responsible government, we cannot afford to take rhetoric at face value. We have to believe "the evidence of (our) eyes and ears," judge by outcomes, and act accordingly.
This is one of many examples where the Trump administration points the finger in one direction while themselves turning the other direction to make something worse. I so badly wanted to believe I was wrong about what he would do if reelected, but now a little over a year in, he's done far worse than I expected. Keep up the good fight.