'They’re not letting us in': Members of Congress locked out of Department of Education

Democratic members of Congress were denied entry to the Department of Education on Friday morning as they gathered to protest President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s proposal to do away with the agency, according to a video one lawmaker posted on X.

“I’m here with multiple members of Congress. We’re here to go to the Department of Education to fight for education, and they have locked the doors,” said Congressman Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) in a video. “They’re not letting us in; it says ‘All Access Entrance’; there’s a random guy out here who’s refusing to let us in—”

“His name is Jim Hairfield,” Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) told Frost. Hairfield is the deputy assistant secretary of the Office of Security at the Education Department.

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“And right here they have armed officers, as well, acting like we’re dangerous,” Frost continued, panning to two men through the window who were wearing uniforms that said “POLICE DHS.”

The Wall Street Journal reported Trump’s plan to “dismantle” the Department of Education earlier this week. The agency oversees student loans, application of special education laws, and a program geared toward low-income students. It was created by Congress in 1979, and can only be shut down by Congress.

At least 74 staff members of the agency have been put on administrative leave, according to Sheria Smith, president of American Federation of Government Employees Local 252.

"It looks very suspicious," Smith told NPR. "Nothing we've seen gives any rhyme or reason as to why these employees were chosen."

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"A lot of what the administration is doing is testing boundaries," Rick Hess of the conservative American Enterprise Institute told NPR, "so we'll see how this works and what might happen in court. I imagine there will be some thinning of the workforce, but it's hard to predict how aggressively they'll move."

“A year ago I’d be able to walk into this building and not be locked out,” Frost said. “Elon is allowed in, but not you, not your elected representatives, not parents, not students. Elon can go in, his goons can go in, but not the representatives of the people.”