A Government Accountability Office review found the Education Department spent as much as $38 million paying Office for Civil Rights employees who were placed on administrative leave amid planned layoffs—while OCR dismissed roughly 90 percent of 9,000 complaints it received between March and September 2025. GAO concluded the department failed to document RIF‑related cost and savings analyses as required, leaving unclear whether workforce reductions achieved stated efficiency goals. The staggered RIFs and court interventions left civil‑rights enforcement strained and generated litigation and congressional scrutiny. GAO warned that Education cannot demonstrate that the restructuring improved service or productivity. Universities, K–12 districts, and civil‑rights advocates are monitoring case backlogs and reinstatement outcomes; the report raises questions about federal capacity to oversee discrimination complaints and suggests Congress and the department may need to restore resources or revise enforcement plans.