July 16, 2025 • 11 mins
The day that there’s an official end to the US Department of Education will be a great day. Until then, having the department shrunk to half of what it had been is a nice win.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Hey, thanks for listening, and welcome back to the Brian Mudshow.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Time now for today's top three takeaways.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
Griffs hit the DOE and other government agencies, plus reinflated inflation. Okay,
so but top takeaway for you today less than half
the department that used to be talking about the Department
of ED. But before we get there, speaking to things
that are shrinking as well, shrinkage, not that kind of shrinkage,
(00:31):
but other kinds of shrinkage. Senate Majority Leader John Thune,
as he was talking about Rick Scott's co sponsored recision
package in the Senate.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
There has been a renewed commitment to reducing spending. It's
actually become in favor to try and find ways to
get rid of waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal government.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
And so last night in the United States Senate, with
a tie breaking vote by Vice President jd Vance, Scott's
recisions package to cut about nine billion dollars and previously
agreed to federal government spending ended up advancing to debate.
So that is on track. A couple things about it.
(01:16):
It's a small package, it's a small number, but it's
actually just one of three that has anticipated we had
talked about this a little bit when some of the
budget numbers are coming out around the one big, potentially
esthetically at pleasing bill Act, and what I mentioned is
there's a really good chance that the numbers you are
hearing on debts and debt and deficits were going to
(01:37):
be worse than what they actually would end up being
for a couple of reasons. One growth, but the other
is that we were likely to see the overall level
of government spending cut from there. That would mark the
high water mark, and then Congress would go behind along
with some of the dose efforts and reduce spending from
that point in specific ways, and that is now the
(01:58):
effort that we are seeing that way with the recisions package,
but also at the federal agency level. So that takes
me to the top takeaway I have for you today
about the departments being less than half of what it
used to be.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
The day that we have an official end to the.
Speaker 1 (02:18):
US Department of Education is going to be a great
day in American history. Until then, having the department shrunk
to half of what it had been.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
That's a nice one.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
And as I've spoken too many times over the years,
including last November, right after Trump's election win. One of
the first things I focused on eliminating the US Department
of Education, something I've called for my entire career, and
I brought that to you most recently in the story
Additioned by Subtraction, It's time to eliminate the Department of Education,
(02:49):
where I said, the best and most efficient way to
improve in any aspect of life is to identify the
bad stuff and stop doing it. So simply getting rid
of the bad silly makes whatever you're working on better.
It's not complicated. And as it pertains to the US
Department of Education, the US was a world leader in education.
We were number two in outcomes in the world prior
(03:13):
to the creation of the US Department of Education in
nineteen eighty.
Speaker 2 (03:16):
What's happened.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
We've got nowhere but backwards, since all we do is
go backwards and education outcomes. So cut it out and
stop doing the bad stuff. Send this back to the
States and get DC and all the politics and all
the nonsense out of it. From a point of practicality,
not only could taxpayers save money while getting a better
educational result in return, but the influence of the Teachers
(03:39):
Union's other political organizations that infest all DC bureaucracies and
that taint educational agendas and curriculum in the classrooms would
be mitigated as well. And in March, President Trump signed
the Executive Order Improving Education Outcomes by Empowering Parents, States
(03:59):
and Communities.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
In it is said.
Speaker 1 (04:02):
This closing the Department of Education and returning authority to
the States. The Secretary of Education shall, to the maximum
extent appropriate and permitted by law, take all necessary steps
to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and
return authority over education to the States and local communities,
(04:22):
while ensuring the effective and uninterrupted delivery of services, programs,
and benefits on which Americans rely. Now, as Education Secretary
Linda McMahon has discussed, President Trump gave her the job
of putting herself out of a job, and that's exactly
what she's been working on. Give you an idea at
its reacent peak. During the Biden administration, the US Department
(04:43):
of Ed and employed over forty four hundred people out
of Washington, d C. By March, at the time that
Trump signed the executive order, the number was down to
forty one hundred and thirty three, the decline of about
three hundred employees at that point had been through attrition.
Bottom linze that as DOE employees had left the agency
(05:04):
leading up to the Trump administration and through the first
couple of months, they just weren't replaced. But then came
the doees first major reduction in force and a statement
released and announcing the riffs of just under fourteen hundred
DOE employees. Secretary McMahon said that the riff reflects the
(05:27):
Department of Education's commitment to efficiency, accountability, and ensuring the
resources are directed to where they matter most to students,
parents and teachers. So, of course, left this interest sued
because well, naturally the DOE employees they're just to enjoy
like lifetime job security, you know, all the cush everything
(05:48):
that goes along with because look, you get a federal
government job at the taxpayer's expense, you should just be
set for life.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
Right.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
How dare the world's most powerful person have any say
over hiring an and firing decisions anyway? I mean, who
does he think is the President of the United States?
Speaker 4 (06:04):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (06:04):
So, And of course a leftist federal judge blocked the
layoffs at the time. It was on Monday that the
Supreme Court cleared the way for Sanity to resume and
for the Trump administration to resume the downsizing of one
of the most detrimental federal government departments in American history.
And as of today, following the Supreme Court's ruling, how
(06:28):
many employees do you think the deal he is down to?
I gave you a hint by saying it's less than
half the department that used to be. We are down
to twenty one hundred and eighty three employees, or fewer
than half of who was there just a year ago.
In addition to the risks that have now gone through,
there's a lot of additional attrition too, And now that
(06:48):
the Supreme Court has cited with sanity the Trump administration,
there's likely to be many more the jump ship before
they're potentially made by McMahon to abandon ship. The DOE
is less than half the department it used to be,
already in under six months in Trump two point zero
less is more. This was a big win in the
(07:10):
Supreme Court, yes for the country, but yes one that
could likely create an accelerating effect with DOE employees leaving quickly,
creating a self fulfilling prophecy of sorts this process, and
Scooti's decision also has applications in other government agencies. My
second takeaway today, here's Tammy Bruce, the State Department spokesperson.
Speaker 5 (07:33):
The Supreme Court's recent near unanimous decision allows the reorganization
to commence and will ensure that the department moves at
the speed of relevancy and restores the department to its
roots of results driven democracy.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
Yes, but wait, there's more.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
Almost as soon as the Scots ruling came down in
the DOEE case, Health and Human Services Secretary RFK Junior
finished when he started in April when he announced a
riff representing ten thousand employees, or a quarter of the
Health and Human Services staff, similarly to the DOE employees.
(08:10):
When the rests were first sent out left this interest
group sued and a sand Friend judge stopped the riffs.
Speaker 2 (08:17):
But this Supreme Court ruling cleared the path for.
Speaker 1 (08:20):
These riffs to advance, and on Monday, RF gage you
and your wasted no time. Health and Human Services sent
out an email to the impacted employees who had been
hanging on due to an ill fated lawsuit that read,
you are hereby notified that you are officially separated from
HHS at the close of business on July fourteenth, twenty
(08:41):
twenty five.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
Thank you come again.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
Actually I said thank you for your service to the
American people, and don't come again.
Speaker 2 (08:48):
By the way, nice nice ending to it.
Speaker 1 (08:50):
I think, yeah, I don't know that I am thankful
for their service. I'm pretty sure my wallet and I
know every time I ate my classes classy move though. Yes, yes,
And that wasn't all. The State Department just clipped thirteen
hundred You heard Tammy Bruce there. She was talking about
the clipping of thirteen hundred and fifteen ploys at state
(09:12):
as well. Now the federal government, it's rapidly shrinking, and
the more wins the administration racks up, the more likely
it is that self deportations from federal positions will take place.
Doge posts Musk maybe done. I mean, technically it's still
around until July fourth next year. But the departmental dozing
(09:33):
is just now really getting going. The swamp is just
now really starting to drain. My third takeaway for you
today inflated reinflation. So here is fox, says Jenny Cassola.
Speaker 4 (09:48):
The consumer price index rose three tenths of a percent
in June from May, up just two tenths. For core
CPI excluding food and energy. For the year ending in June,
the CPI was up two point seven percent and the
core reading up two point nine percent.
Speaker 2 (10:04):
Yeah you're down at the CPI.
Speaker 1 (10:07):
Yeah no not I you could go with there speak
but anyway, Tuesday, it's Joel.
Speaker 2 (10:13):
The look at Joel's faces, like, I no nould just
say to that.
Speaker 1 (10:16):
Tuesday's Consumer Price Index report was the news that Wall
Street expected to hear, but not the news of President
Trump or anyone else who wants lower interest rates wanted
to hear. While inflation at two point seven percent annually
most recently still lower than when Trump took over as president,
when it was at three percent, it was up from
two point four in the previous month, it's trending in
(10:37):
the wrong direction. And yes, the impact of Trump's tariffs
is largely to blame, which means two things.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
One, there's no.
Speaker 1 (10:45):
Way the Federal Reserve is going to cut interest rates
at their policy meeting at the end of this month.
That's off the table, so rates will be staying higher
for longer. And two, with Trump's recent tariff two point
zero announcements, with August first headlines on the horizon, the
inflation risk may still be to the side over the
short term. In any event, the economists, for the most part,
got to write this month. They got the top line
(11:06):
number right. The core CPI actually came in lower than expected,
but that's not the news that the Trump really wanted
to see. And locally the rate was a bit higher too.
We only get our local inflation numbers. Quarterly inflation in
June for the Miami for Lauderdale West Palm Beach metro
bumped up to three point one percent. That was nearly
(11:27):
a full point higher than it was in April. See
inflation has slightly reinflated.
Hey, thanks for listening, and welcome back to the Brian Mudshow.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Time now for today's top three takeaways.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
Griffs hit the DOE and other government agencies, plus reinflated inflation. Okay,
so but top takeaway for you today less than half
the department that used to be talking about the Department
of ED. But before we get there, speaking to things
that are shrinking as well, shrinkage, not that kind of shrinkage,
(00:31):
but other kinds of shrinkage. Senate Majority Leader John Thune,
as he was talking about Rick Scott's co sponsored recision
package in the Senate.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
There has been a renewed commitment to reducing spending. It's
actually become in favor to try and find ways to
get rid of waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal government.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
And so last night in the United States Senate, with
a tie breaking vote by Vice President jd Vance, Scott's
recisions package to cut about nine billion dollars and previously
agreed to federal government spending ended up advancing to debate.
So that is on track. A couple things about it.
(01:16):
It's a small package, it's a small number, but it's
actually just one of three that has anticipated we had
talked about this a little bit when some of the
budget numbers are coming out around the one big, potentially
esthetically at pleasing bill Act, and what I mentioned is
there's a really good chance that the numbers you are
hearing on debts and debt and deficits were going to
(01:37):
be worse than what they actually would end up being
for a couple of reasons. One growth, but the other
is that we were likely to see the overall level
of government spending cut from there. That would mark the
high water mark, and then Congress would go behind along
with some of the dose efforts and reduce spending from
that point in specific ways, and that is now the
(01:58):
effort that we are seeing that way with the recisions package,
but also at the federal agency level. So that takes
me to the top takeaway I have for you today
about the departments being less than half of what it
used to be.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
The day that we have an official end to the.
Speaker 1 (02:18):
US Department of Education is going to be a great
day in American history. Until then, having the department shrunk
to half of what it had been.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
That's a nice one.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
And as I've spoken too many times over the years,
including last November, right after Trump's election win. One of
the first things I focused on eliminating the US Department
of Education, something I've called for my entire career, and
I brought that to you most recently in the story
Additioned by Subtraction, It's time to eliminate the Department of Education,
(02:49):
where I said, the best and most efficient way to
improve in any aspect of life is to identify the
bad stuff and stop doing it. So simply getting rid
of the bad silly makes whatever you're working on better.
It's not complicated. And as it pertains to the US
Department of Education, the US was a world leader in education.
We were number two in outcomes in the world prior
(03:13):
to the creation of the US Department of Education in
nineteen eighty.
Speaker 2 (03:16):
What's happened.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
We've got nowhere but backwards, since all we do is
go backwards and education outcomes. So cut it out and
stop doing the bad stuff. Send this back to the
States and get DC and all the politics and all
the nonsense out of it. From a point of practicality,
not only could taxpayers save money while getting a better
educational result in return, but the influence of the Teachers
(03:39):
Union's other political organizations that infest all DC bureaucracies and
that taint educational agendas and curriculum in the classrooms would
be mitigated as well. And in March, President Trump signed
the Executive Order Improving Education Outcomes by Empowering Parents, States
(03:59):
and Communities.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
In it is said.
Speaker 1 (04:02):
This closing the Department of Education and returning authority to
the States. The Secretary of Education shall, to the maximum
extent appropriate and permitted by law, take all necessary steps
to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and
return authority over education to the States and local communities,
(04:22):
while ensuring the effective and uninterrupted delivery of services, programs,
and benefits on which Americans rely. Now, as Education Secretary
Linda McMahon has discussed, President Trump gave her the job
of putting herself out of a job, and that's exactly
what she's been working on. Give you an idea at
its reacent peak. During the Biden administration, the US Department
(04:43):
of Ed and employed over forty four hundred people out
of Washington, d C. By March, at the time that
Trump signed the executive order, the number was down to
forty one hundred and thirty three, the decline of about
three hundred employees at that point had been through attrition.
Bottom linze that as DOE employees had left the agency
(05:04):
leading up to the Trump administration and through the first
couple of months, they just weren't replaced. But then came
the doees first major reduction in force and a statement
released and announcing the riffs of just under fourteen hundred
DOE employees. Secretary McMahon said that the riff reflects the
(05:27):
Department of Education's commitment to efficiency, accountability, and ensuring the
resources are directed to where they matter most to students,
parents and teachers. So, of course, left this interest sued
because well, naturally the DOE employees they're just to enjoy
like lifetime job security, you know, all the cush everything
(05:48):
that goes along with because look, you get a federal
government job at the taxpayer's expense, you should just be
set for life.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
Right.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
How dare the world's most powerful person have any say
over hiring an and firing decisions anyway? I mean, who
does he think is the President of the United States?
Speaker 4 (06:04):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (06:04):
So, And of course a leftist federal judge blocked the
layoffs at the time. It was on Monday that the
Supreme Court cleared the way for Sanity to resume and
for the Trump administration to resume the downsizing of one
of the most detrimental federal government departments in American history.
And as of today, following the Supreme Court's ruling, how
(06:28):
many employees do you think the deal he is down to?
I gave you a hint by saying it's less than
half the department that used to be. We are down
to twenty one hundred and eighty three employees, or fewer
than half of who was there just a year ago.
In addition to the risks that have now gone through,
there's a lot of additional attrition too, And now that
(06:48):
the Supreme Court has cited with sanity the Trump administration,
there's likely to be many more the jump ship before
they're potentially made by McMahon to abandon ship. The DOE
is less than half the department it used to be,
already in under six months in Trump two point zero
less is more. This was a big win in the
(07:10):
Supreme Court, yes for the country, but yes one that
could likely create an accelerating effect with DOE employees leaving quickly,
creating a self fulfilling prophecy of sorts this process, and
Scooti's decision also has applications in other government agencies. My
second takeaway today, here's Tammy Bruce, the State Department spokesperson.
Speaker 5 (07:33):
The Supreme Court's recent near unanimous decision allows the reorganization
to commence and will ensure that the department moves at
the speed of relevancy and restores the department to its
roots of results driven democracy.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
Yes, but wait, there's more.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
Almost as soon as the Scots ruling came down in
the DOEE case, Health and Human Services Secretary RFK Junior
finished when he started in April when he announced a
riff representing ten thousand employees, or a quarter of the
Health and Human Services staff, similarly to the DOE employees.
(08:10):
When the rests were first sent out left this interest
group sued and a sand Friend judge stopped the riffs.
Speaker 2 (08:17):
But this Supreme Court ruling cleared the path for.
Speaker 1 (08:20):
These riffs to advance, and on Monday, RF gage you
and your wasted no time. Health and Human Services sent
out an email to the impacted employees who had been
hanging on due to an ill fated lawsuit that read,
you are hereby notified that you are officially separated from
HHS at the close of business on July fourteenth, twenty
(08:41):
twenty five.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
Thank you come again.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
Actually I said thank you for your service to the
American people, and don't come again.
Speaker 2 (08:48):
By the way, nice nice ending to it.
Speaker 1 (08:50):
I think, yeah, I don't know that I am thankful
for their service. I'm pretty sure my wallet and I
know every time I ate my classes classy move though. Yes, yes,
And that wasn't all. The State Department just clipped thirteen
hundred You heard Tammy Bruce there. She was talking about
the clipping of thirteen hundred and fifteen ploys at state
(09:12):
as well. Now the federal government, it's rapidly shrinking, and
the more wins the administration racks up, the more likely
it is that self deportations from federal positions will take place.
Doge posts Musk maybe done. I mean, technically it's still
around until July fourth next year. But the departmental dozing
(09:33):
is just now really getting going. The swamp is just
now really starting to drain. My third takeaway for you
today inflated reinflation. So here is fox, says Jenny Cassola.
Speaker 4 (09:48):
The consumer price index rose three tenths of a percent
in June from May, up just two tenths. For core
CPI excluding food and energy. For the year ending in June,
the CPI was up two point seven percent and the
core reading up two point nine percent.
Speaker 2 (10:04):
Yeah you're down at the CPI.
Speaker 1 (10:07):
Yeah no not I you could go with there speak
but anyway, Tuesday, it's Joel.
Speaker 2 (10:13):
The look at Joel's faces, like, I no nould just
say to that.
Speaker 1 (10:16):
Tuesday's Consumer Price Index report was the news that Wall
Street expected to hear, but not the news of President
Trump or anyone else who wants lower interest rates wanted
to hear. While inflation at two point seven percent annually
most recently still lower than when Trump took over as president,
when it was at three percent, it was up from
two point four in the previous month, it's trending in
(10:37):
the wrong direction. And yes, the impact of Trump's tariffs
is largely to blame, which means two things.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
One, there's no.
Speaker 1 (10:45):
Way the Federal Reserve is going to cut interest rates
at their policy meeting at the end of this month.
That's off the table, so rates will be staying higher
for longer. And two, with Trump's recent tariff two point
zero announcements, with August first headlines on the horizon, the
inflation risk may still be to the side over the
short term. In any event, the economists, for the most part,
got to write this month. They got the top line
(11:06):
number right. The core CPI actually came in lower than expected,
but that's not the news that the Trump really wanted
to see. And locally the rate was a bit higher too.
We only get our local inflation numbers. Quarterly inflation in
June for the Miami for Lauderdale West Palm Beach metro
bumped up to three point one percent. That was nearly
(11:27):
a full point higher than it was in April. See
inflation has slightly reinflated.
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