A Department of Education overhaul led by personnel tied to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) triggered the abrupt termination of more than 100 research contracts—totaling over $1 billion on paper—and the cancellation of long-term data projects, according to reporting on the department’s early-year actions. Ten Regional Educational Laboratories (RELs) lost contracts and an 11‑year longitudinal study of youth with disabilities was canceled, leaving students and state partners in limbo. Sources quoted in the coverage described the moves as ideological and rapid: DOGE staff embedded within the agency reviewed and axed contracts in sweeping fashion. Even core federal data infrastructure, including a contract for EDFacts (which aggregates demographic and school-level data), was targeted. This represents a major disruption to federally supported education research and statistical programs; states, researchers and service providers face operational gaps and lost longitudinal datasets. EDFacts and RELs provide the evidence base for interventions in K–12 and postsecondary education, so the contraction will complicate policy evaluation and program continuity.