Washington DC - Donald Trump's Department of Education said Tuesday it was slashing its staff numbers by almost half, the opening gambit in a plan to dismantle the department.

The move is the latest to roil the US federal government in the six weeks since the president returned to the White House pledging to drastically slim what he says is a flabby and inefficient bureaucracy, with thousands of employees across the country already fired.

Education Secretary Linda McMahon told Fox News the decision to chop her staff – just five days after she started work – was a step toward fulfilling Trump's order last month that she "put herself out of a job."

"His directive to me, clearly, is to shut down the Department of Education, which we know we'll have to work with Congress, you know, to get that accomplished," said McMahon, the former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment.

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"But what we did today was to take the first step of eliminating what I think is bureaucratic bloat."

Employees at the agency, which manages student loans, monitors achievements among learners, and enforces civil rights, were locked out of their offices on Tuesday.

"As part of the Department of Education's final mission, the Department today initiated a reduction in force impacting nearly 50 percent of the Department's workforce," said a statement.

The department had around 4,100 employees when Trump took office.

Almost 600 agreed to resign or retire over the last few weeks as part of a government-wide plan to reduce headcount, overseen by billionaire businessman Elon Musk.

A further 1,300 will be placed on administrative leave on March 21, although they will continue to be paid until June, a statement said, adding that no area would be spared the cuts.

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"All divisions within the Department are impacted by the reduction, with some divisions requiring significant reorganization to better serve students, parents, educators, and taxpayers," a statement read.

However, it said, statutory programs would continue unabated, such as student loans, Pell Grants, and funding for students with special needs.

Trump promised to decentralize education as he campaigned for a return to the White House, saying he would devolve the department's powers to state governments.

Traditionally, the federal government has had a limited role in education in the US, with only about 13% of funding for primary and secondary schools coming from federal coffers, the rest being funded by states and local communities.

But federal funding is invaluable for low-income schools and students with special needs, and the federal government has been essential in enforcing key civil rights protections for students.

By law, the Education Department, created in 1979, cannot be shuttered without the approval of Congress.

Democrats and opponents of the plan see defunding the department and firing staff as a way to neutralize it without the need to seek approval from the House and the Senate.

Democratic Senator Patty Murray, a former chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, accused Trump of demolishing the agency.

"Families want help to get students' math and reading scores up and ensure their kids can thrive. Instead, Donald Trump is taking a wrecking ball to the Department of Education and robbing our students and teachers of the resources and support they need, so that Republicans can pay for more massive tax cuts for billionaires," read a statement.

"Fewer teachers, less accountability, less resources for students, and more chaos – it's the last thing students and schools need, but it's exactly what Trump is delivering."