The education secretary faced questions about the shrinking of her agency, limits on federal student loan borrowing and oversight of the education of students with disabilities.

In her first appearance on Capitol Hill this year, lawmakers questioned Education Secretary Linda McMahon about students' civil rights and cuts to federal education spending.

In August, Education Department employees will relocate to a smaller office roughly a block away, and the larger Energy Department will take over the old headquarters.

The Trump administration has fired, or tried to fire, many of the federal staff members who manage and enforce federal disability law in schools.

Opponents of the changes say Congress explicitly located some of these offices inside the Education Department, and the White House cannot legally move their work without Congress' approval.

The Trump administration had appealed a decision that had directed it to stop gutting the U.S. Education Department and to reinstate many of the workers the government had laid off.

The federal judge also told the administration to reinstate department employees who lost their jobs during the reduction-in-force announced in March.

The department sent a letter to state leaders threatening the loss of funds for K-12 schools that don't follow its interpretation of civil rights laws.

Teacher unions and some parent groups condemned the cuts, while school choice advocates celebrated them.

Code Switch's Gene Demby looks into the Department of Education's new end-DEI portal that asks Americans to narc on their local public schools.

The draft executive action, obtained by NPR, acknowledges that the department and its signature responsibilities were created by Congress and cannot legally be altered without congressional approval.

The White House has been clear that it intends to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education, and that it will be McMahon's job to oversee that effort.

McMahon has a limited background in education, and a long career as a business executive. She'd be stepping into an agency the president hopes to dissolve.