Senate panel blocks Trump’s plan to shrink the Education Department

The Senate HELP Committee advanced a bipartisan bill (S. 5046) to stop the Trump administration from transferring major Education Department offices—such as Special Education and other key programs—to other federal agencies, effectively slowing down a broader downsizing plan. The measure would keep Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, along with Elementary/Secondary, Postsecondary, and Indian Education programs, at the DOE, while allowing certain interagency transfers to proceed (e.g., career/tech education to Labor, student loans to Treasury, civil rights to DOJ). Its fate is uncertain as House colleagues pursue different moves and appropriations fights unfold.