Congressional Democrats are raising concerns that widespread layoffs at the Department of Education made at the direction of the White House will hobble the department’s ability to combat antisemitism.

Politico reported on Wednesday that an unspecified number of employees at the department’s Office for Civil Rights had been fired. The office is responsible for investigating complaints of discrimination, including antisemitism, which have skyrocketed since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel.

Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ) raised the issue during Linda McMahon’s Thursday confirmation hearing to be secretary of education, saying he was “alarmed” that multiple Office for Civil Rights staff members had allegedly been placed on administrative leave without notice or explanation, including some who were investigating antisemitism cases.

McMahon said that, because she was not yet in the role, she was not familiar with the situation.

“I want to look into that, I want to understand it. I want to assess the department,” she said. “I can’t do that unless I’m confirmed and I get there, but I would certainly be willing to come back to you with a more specific answer.”

McMahon offered a similar answer when Kim asked her about efforts to cut funding for the Office for Civil Rights, but said that she wants to “make sure that we have everything that we need to have in place to protect our students on campuses.”

Kim described her responses as frustrating and the debate about cuts at the department as “untethered from the reality on the ground.”

“I feel like this is such a clear place where we can just say, ‘Yes, we want to make sure we have as much resources as possible to be able to fight antisemitism, to make sure that we’re addressing these needs of such a surge,’” Kim said. “I just urge you if you are confirmed that we are understanding the human impact of the problems.”

.@AndyKimNJ asked McMahon about recent staff reductions at the Office of Civil Rights and its ability to respond to cases of antisemitism.

"I would wanna make sure that we have everything that we need to have in place to protect our students on campuses," McMahon responded. pic.twitter.com/rrVGRIODv6

— Jewish Insider (@J_Insider) February 13, 2025

Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY), co-chair of the bipartisan House antisemitism task force, said in a statement that he was “disgusted and disappointed” by what he described as “unconstitutional purges” at the Department of Education and other areas of the federal government.

“As the only way for the government to effectively combat and remedy antisemitism on college campuses and schools around the country, the Office for Civil Rights needs more support and resources than ever before,” Goldman said, noting that officials have said the office has been under-resourced for years, with a spike in cases after Oct. 7.

“While President Trump has paid lip service to combating antisemitism, this move demonstrated that he will not take the actions necessary to match the words,” Goldman continued. “If the President truly cares about protecting Jewish students on college campuses, he must immediately reverse these cuts and reinstate these vital employees. Our Jewish students deserve that support.” 

In an interview with Jewish Insider a day prior, Goldman had said he was concerned that efforts to combat antisemitism would be a “collateral consequence” of the sweeping cuts across the federal government, even as he said he stood ready to work with the Trump administration on an issue he thought was of shared concern for him and President Donald Trump.

Trump has also said repeatedly that he plans to dissolve the Department of Education entirely. It’s unclear where or if the Office for Civil Rights’ responsibilities would be transferred if that happens.

Planned cuts across the federal government workforce reportedly include most probationary staff hired within the last year, totalling more than 200,000 federal employees, The Washington Post reported.

Republicans have argued that the Office for Civil Rights’ backlog in antisemitism cases is not due to a lack of resources, but rather a failure to properly prioritize antisemitism investigations. They’ve also taken issue with other areas of focus for the OCR during the Biden administration.