The Trump administration is facing new scrutiny after political commentator, attorney, and correspondent A.B., widely known as Legally Hype (@iamlegallyhype), published a viral breakdown accusing federal officials of executing a “quiet, aggressive” plan to hollow out the U.S. Department of Education without congressional approval.
In the Instagram video — viewed widely by parents, educators, and policy watchers — Legally Hype explains that on Nov. 18, the administration finalized six agreements to outsource core Department of Education functions to four unrelated federal agencies.
The move follows a March executive order President Trump signed to eliminate the department entirely, a step that by law requires Congress. Instead, the administration appears to be shifting responsibilities elsewhere — effectively shrinking the agency from within.
“This isn’t reform. This isn’t streamlining. This is dismantling,” she says in the clip. “They’re shipping core education duties out like Amazon Prime packages.”
What Was Outsourced — and to Whom
According to Legally Hype, the agreements reassign major education functions to agencies with completely different missions:
- Department of Labor will now oversee programs affecting colleges, universities, and potentially even K–12 systems.
- Department of the Interior will take on expanded duties related to Indigenous education.
- Health and Human Services (HHS) will manage grants for parenting students and the accreditation of foreign medical schools.
- State Department will absorb responsibilities involving language and international programs.
Experts warn that these agencies lack both the infrastructure and legal frameworks to manage equity, civil rights monitoring, and compliance — which have historically been the backbone of the federal education system.
A Hollowed-Out Department?
The Supreme Court recently allowed mass layoffs inside the Department of Education to proceed, clearing the path for the restructuring. This means entire sections of the department have been left without staff — even as critical programs remain unresolved.
Among the areas still “under consideration” for reassignment:
- Special education enforcement
- Civil rights oversight
- Federal student aid, which controls every federal student loan in the country
For advocacy groups, that pause is chilling.
Rachel Gittleman, president of the union representing Education Department employees, called the move “an attack on public education.”
Legally Hype echoed the concern: “When federal oversight disappears, it’s students with disabilities, students of color, and working families who get hit first — and hardest.”
A Political Puzzle With High Stakes
Education Secretary Linda McMahon defended the changes, arguing they would cut through bureaucracy. She also signaled plans to push Congress to permanently codify the restructuring — a move critics say proves the administration knows the policy is too sweeping to stand on executive action alone.
Legally Hype pressed a pointed question:
“If the department is so ‘unnecessary,’ why spend this much time and political capital dismantling it?”
Her argument: If the goal were simply efficiency, the administration wouldn’t need “six secret contracts” to shift responsibilities to agencies that “weren’t designed for any of this.”
The Insider Speaks
Joining Legally Hype in the video is Michael Yudin, a veteran education official who helped oversee Section 504, the cornerstone federal policy guaranteeing students with disabilities access to a free and appropriate public education.
Yudin warned that the changes threaten decades of safeguards that keep discrimination in check and help ensure equal access for all students.
Growing Public Alarm
The video has sparked increasing anxiety among education advocates, teachers, and parents, many of whom fear the restructuring could:
- Erode civil rights protections
- Increase inconsistencies between states
- Undermine special education laws
- Leave millions of borrowers in limbo
Legally Hype closes her video with a stark reminder:
“This isn’t coordination. This is dismantling. And the people who will pay the price are students — not politicians.”
The administration has not yet released a public explanation detailing how the new structure will function — or how oversight, accountability, and student protections will be preserved.
