The U.S. Department of Education announced it will abandon its longtime Lyndon B. Johnson headquarters and relocate to 500 D Street NW in August, with the Department of Energy taking over the LBJ building. The move is framed as cost-saving, with GSA citing an annual operating-cost reduction of about $4.8 million and a major reduction in ED’s footprint. The headquarters shuffle follows broader federal actions to downsize the agency: layoffs, outsourcing of programs to other federal departments, and interagency agreements. One reported shift includes Treasury taking operational responsibility for the student-loan portfolio, with the goal of returning borrowers to repayment and managing defaulted debt. Federal employee unions warned that the physical downsizing and function transfers signal education bureaucracy is “next on the chopping block,” while the administration says it is reducing red tape and shrinking federal administration of education programs.