Krishnamoorthi Raises Concerns Over Trump Administration Efforts to Dismantle the Department of Education, Weakening America’s Ability to Develop STEM and AI Workforce

WASHINGTON — Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, Ranking Member of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, today sent a letter to the Department of Education Secretary Linda McMahon warning of the detrimental impact of the Administration's funding cuts to core Department of Education offices, including the Office of Educational Technology (OET), on America's ability to develop the STEM and AI workforce needed to compete with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). 

In the letter, Ranking Member Krishnamoorthi lays out the actions the Trump Administration has taken to dismantle the Department of Education – eliminating the OET, hollowing out the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) and the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), and disrupting the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE). This misguided strategy, he argues, “fractures the federal government’s ability to guide innovation, generate evidence, and sustain workforce pipelines. Taken together, these actions amount to a de facto dismantling of the Department of Education that weakens coordination, sidesteps congressional intent, and undermines national competitiveness.” 

In stark contrast to changes at home, Krishnamoorthi explains how the PRC has demonstrated “becoming a global science power a top priority” by last year increasing “investments in science and technology by ten percent, equivalent to roughly $51.5 billion USD.” The PRC is strengthening vocational education funding, investing “roughly $10 billion dollars to bolster vocational education…to train the next generation of technicians for the factory lines of the future.” Meanwhile, staffing cuts and unclear leadership at OCTAE have already led to “states…reporting delays” and “confusion about accessing federal funding.” These vocational programs, supporting millions of students in hands-on manufacturing, health sciences, and information technology training, “could shrink…and students could lose access to the training they need for high-skill, high-wage jobs.”

Krishnamoorthi warns of the dire consequences of dismantling the Department of Education while the PRC continues to invest heavily to “build an AI-ready, technically skilled workforce.”  He writes, “America is still home to the best and brightest and we need to keep it that way.” However, in the last year, “at least 85 top scientists previously working in the U.S. have left to join PRC research institutions.” He closes by saying, “at a time when the CCP is investing heavily in education, data, and technical training, these cuts put America’s ability to compete in STEM, artificial intelligence, and innovation at risk.”

Accordingly, Ranking Member Krishnamoorthi requested that Department of Education provide answers to the following questions by January 6, 2026:

1. Considering recent and forthcoming cuts, including the dismantling of the Office of Educational Technology, does the Department have a plan to attempt to mitigate the grave impacts on American schools’ ability to deploy AI and related tools that help prepare the next generation of workers?
2. How many Americans will be unable to receive vocational training and upskilling due to the massive cuts to Perkins V program and the dismantling of the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education, and has your Department consulted with any other agency or solicited any public feedback regarding the impact of these cuts on our national security?
3. Given the PRC’s increasing investments in AI, STEM education, and vocational education, has the Department evaluated the impact of dismantling key federal education offices on America’s long-term competitiveness?

The letter is available here.