The Trump administration wasted $38 million in taxpayer money by paying investigators not to work while dismantling the Department of Education and dismissing 90% of discrimination cases without review.
It is not shocking that the Trump administration rejects claims that students are being discriminated against.
The hypocrisy of a government that claims to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse and squander taxpayers’ money to pursue an ideological agenda is striking.
Senator Sanders ordered one GAO report which was partially found:
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In March 2025, after the government attempted to lay off nearly half of OCR’s workforce, these employees were placed on paid administrative leave for nine months, costing taxpayers up to $38 million, while investigators were prevented from doing their work.
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During the Trump administration shutdown in 2025, the administration proposed a second round of layoffs, reducing the OCR to just 10% of its previous capacity.
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In December, the government changed course and reinstated the staff, putting an end to the lawsuits, but some of the damage could not be undone. Today, far fewer researchers serve our students than in 2024.
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During this period, Americans filed more than 9,000 discrimination complaints with OCR – and about 90% were dismissed without review.
The American people would not know that the government is promoting discrimination and dismantling accountability without the efforts of members of the Democratic Senate Party like Bernie Sanders.
Senator Sanders said:
Every child in America should be able to get a good education, regardless of where they live, what their religious beliefs are, or whether they have a disability or not.
Instead, the Trump administration fired half of the Department of Education employees dedicated to protecting students’ civil rights and wasted as much as $38 million in taxpayer money by preventing investigators from doing their work. That is unacceptable.
Sanders made an important point.
Many of the students who are discriminated against have disabilities. Disability accommodations are required by law, but now students discriminated against because of their disability, race or religion will have no recourse because Trump has dismantled the government’s investigative tools.
When people get frustrated and tell the Democrats to DO SOMETHING, they don’t know or understand that the Democrats and their independent allies are using every little bit of power they have to hold this administration accountable.
The American people need to know that this administration is enabling discrimination against students, which is why the reports and letters written by elected Democrats and their independent caucus members are so vital.
What do you think of the report that Senator Sanders commissioned? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
