Department Of Education To Lay Off 50% Of Staff. Polling Shows Voters Oppose Eliminating The Agency

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

59% : " The polling shows that Republican overwhelmingly support accountability measures the Department currently runs.
58% : Third Way polled 500 likely Republican voters in early February, asking them about their support for higher education and its value generally, as well as questions around specific policies.
57% : The Third Way polling data also showed high level of support for several higher education programs that congressional republicans are considering cutting through the reconciliation process.
54% : A new poll of Republican voters from Third Way, a center left think tank, shows that Republican voters want improvements in higher education, including greater accountability for colleges that receive federal funding -- core function of the Department of Education.
53% : Ben Cecil, Senior Education Advisor at Third Way and author of their polling memo, said that "Republican voters made clear that they want more accountability across the board -- higher education institutions included.
51% : As a recent New America analysis explains, the oversight and accountability functions of the Department are deliberately designed with three separate entities: the Department, state regulators, and accrediting agencies.
48% : It remains to be seen whether the Trump administration, and congressional republicans will heed the warning that voters want more from higher education and the Department of Education, not less.
42% : Almost half of respondents (48%) said that the high cost of higher education is the most urgent issue the federal government should fix.
42% : Income-driven repayment, which adjusts student loan payments based on borrower income, also received 79% support from republican voters.
32% : However, in addition to the announced layoffs, the Trump administration has discussed turning over help for FAFSA filers to AI, and cancelled contracts funding research used to gauge whether students in higher education are succeeding or not.

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