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It was the fourth agency this week that federal employees blocked congressional Democrats from entering amid a push to shutter government agencies and dramatically cut the federal work force.
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House Democrats Denied Entry to the U.S. Department of Education
Several Democratic lawmakers attempted to access the department’s headquarters on Friday, after a request to meet with the acting education secretary went unanswered.
“We’re coming in. Don’t block the door. We’re coming in. Who are you?” “You’re not coming in.” “Who are you?” “Under whose orders?” “Who are you?” “Who are you, sir?” “Do you have business here? “Yes, we do.” (crowd shouting) “I have sent the secretary, I have sent the assistant secretary a letter, alerting her that we would be here today, and we have asked her for a meeting.” “Yeah, I don’t know that’s been accepted. So until that’s accepted.” “Who are you?” “What authority do you have?” “And what do you do here?” “What do you do here?” “I have security responsibilities.” “Get out of the way.” “We pay for your job. We pay you.” “I understand.” “We’re members of Congress, we’re not a threat.” “We’re members of Congress.” “Nobody has accepted a meeting.” “We haven’t heard that from the secretary. We haven’t heard that from her spokesman.” “I’m relaying that.” “You are not the spokesman for the department. You are a security guard.” “Are you prepared to stand here all night if we decide to stay?” “I guess, yeah.” “All right, well you just stay right there, then. And you just stay and stand there.” “Why are you letting us go to that desk like we were able to do last year?” “He’s a U.S. employee, right?” “No, he’s not.” “He’s not a U.S. employee.” “This is a public institution.” “Did Elon Musk hire you?” “Who do you work for?” “I’m a federal employee working for the education.” “Now they’ve called the police on us.” “Advocate on behalf of your children.” “Trump and Musk have placed DOGE staffers in the building, where they have access to the private data of millions of students and families. Already, they have placed dozens of employees who perform vital services on which our schools, teachers and students depend, on leave. We will not cede the responsibility for our future generations to one man, his ideology and his unelected lieutenants.”
- Feb. 8, 2025, 6:45 p.m. ET
In a striking display of the limits being placed on congressional authority in the first weeks of the new administration, several Democratic lawmakers were denied entry to the U.S. Department of Education on Friday.
“Get out of the way,” Representative Maxine Waters of California told a man blocking more than a dozen House Democrats from the doors at the department’s Washington offices. The man, who was not identified by name, said he was a federal employee working for the department.
“Did Elon Musk hire you?” asked Representative Becca Balint of Vermont.
“This is an outrage,” Representative Mark Takano of California shouted as he and his colleagues were physically blocked from entering the building. “We have oversight responsibilities,” he said during the unsuccessful attempt to enter.
The clash, captured on video by multiple members, was yet another episode that became a flashpoint in the intensifying battle over the administration’s efforts to reshape the federal bureaucracy.
“They are blocking members of Congress from entering the Department of Education! Elon is allowed in and not the people? ILLEGAL,” Representative Maxwell Frost of Florida wrote in a post.
It is unclear, however, if the federal employee violated any laws by refusing entry. While members of Congress do have an oversight role over federal agencies, that power is typically exercised through hearings and enforcement of policies.
