One of the fundamental pillars of our free and democratic country is the right of every child to have a free public-school education. While this is not the case globally, it is a model of a modern progressive society in which today’s world demands literate, educated and well-informed citizens and workers. That very notion of a free education is truly one envied by parents and children around the world.
The Trump/Musk DOGE mafia think otherwise in their plan to shut down the Department of Education that oversees the education of over 100 million school age and college students in their futile, relentless, and disingenuous cost savings efforts disguised in this case as returning education to local control.
In defiance and opposition to the vital department’s demise, a rally was held on March 11 attended by educators, parents and students at the Department of Education’s headquarters to tell Trump, Musk and DOGE they have a fight on their hands if they think this will pass. In opening the rally, the first speaker in noting DOGE, “They are not trying to fix education; they are trying to dismantle it.” She then quoted Trump-appointed education secretary Linda McMahon, a professional wrestling promoter, who said she will oversee “The Department’s final mission.” The speaker’s response was “I’ve got news for you, Linda, we’re not going down without a fight.”
Earlier on March 3, McMahon informed the department’s workers in a speech of her mission at Education by saying “My vision is aligned with the President’s: to send education back to the states and empower all parents to choose an excellent education for their children.”
She went on to say that American education “ought not to be corrupted by political ideologies, special interests, and unjust discrimination,” and then oddly contradicted herself by referencing a list of Trump’s politically ideological goals of “combatting critical race theory, DEI, gender ideology, discrimination in admissions, promoting school choice for every child, and restoring patriotic education and civics.”
Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association (NEA) the nation’s largest labor union, spoke passionately about education by reminding everyone that: “There can be no democracy without a free universal public education system. There are those who seek to starve our public schools of resources and strip our students of their right to learn about their own history and of others so they can become the leaders of a just society. We believe that every student deserves to attend public schools that are high quality and safe and inviting and welcoming and inclusive.”
She acknowledged the people who work at the Department of Education as those “who transform our beliefs into a reality for millions of public-school students. Public education is the foundation of this or any democracy. And the attempts to dismantle our public schools are an attempt to dimmish our democracy and put more money and control and power into the hands and pockets of billionaires like Elon Musk.” Pringle closed by promising that through legal and legislative action, “We will protect our students. With people rising up all over this country we will protect our students!”
Congressman Mark Takano (D-CA) himself a former public high school teacher who serves on the House Education and Workforce Committee, spoke on the pending evisceration of the Department of Education. In February of this year when he along with Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL) and other members of Congress attempted to meet with Secretary McMahon to ask her why she was complying “with an illegal executive order to shut down the Department of Education,” they were barred from entering the building.
At the front door of the building, a man in street clothes who claimed to have “security responsibility” informed them they would have to be on a “guest list” to be allowed in and would not respond as to why they were being barred from entry.
At the time, Rep. Frost made a video in which he noted that inside there were “armed officers acting like we’re dangerous.” He noted also that “A year ago, I’d be able to walk into this building and not be locked out. This is what they’re doing. Elon is allowed in but not you, not your elected representatives, not parents, not students. Elon can go in, his goons can go in, but not the representatives of the people.”
Congressman Takano acknowledged that it “takes a village” to educate kids, noting the teacher, bus driver, cafeteria worker, staff and safety officers who are all integral for kids to learn. He thanked the staff at the Department of Education who work to make sure that kids all across the country “get an equal shot at a public education.”
“Make no mistake this is under attack. Radical Republicans have long dreamt of dismantling the Department of Education. And now that Donald Trump is president, they are making their move. He and the rest of Project 2025 have installed Linda McMahon as perhaps, as what they hope, will be the final Secretary of the Department,” he said.
Every student will feel the impact of the decision to dismantle the department. He further commented that students with special needs would be “locked out” and that teachers would have “less support across the board.”
“If Secretary McMahon follows through on the illegal executive order once it is issued, she will go down in history as the woman who resegregated American schools,” Takano said. “This has been the republican plan to make education untenable and to make it harder for students who are not well-off or well-connected. And for what? A tax break for billionaires. That’s what this whole thing is about. A tax giveaway for the wealthy and well connected. Their plan is wildly unpopular with the American people, and they could not get the support of Congress if they tried. Just last year a big bipartisan majority voted against eliminating the Department of Education. But they are hoping that with the onslaught of executive orders the American people will not notice. But we, we will not let them!”
Shortly after Rep. Takano concluded, the rally was disrupted by the passing of Vice President J.D. Vance’s motorcade at which the crowd booed and chanted: “This what democracy looks like,” and “This is what education looks like.”
Six hours after today’s protest and rally ended, staff at the Department of Education were told in a memo that the offices were being closed at 6:00 pm this evening and all-day Wednesday for “Security Reasons” and that workers should take their laptops home with them. They were told that the offices were scheduled to reopen on Thursday, but at exactly 6:00 pm this evening the department announced that 1,300 workers or 50 percent of the staff were fired immediately. Another shameful opaque DOGE tactic brought to the country by Musk and Trump.
Before leaving, the group faced the building and clapped for those inside, thanking them for their service in supporting education in America. Looking up at the massive building, one couldn’t help but see a handmade sign in an upper story window with the message: “We Miss You” for colleagues in the plaza below who had already been fired by Musk and DOGE.
Report and photos by Phil Pasquini
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