WASHINGTON (AP) — The Education Department plans to lay off more than 1,300 of its employees as part of an effort to halve the organization’s staff — a prelude to President Donald Trump’s plan to dismantle the agency.

Department officials announced the cuts Tuesday, raising questions about the agency’s ability to continue usual operations.

The Trump administration had already been whittling the agency’s staff, though buyout offers and the termination of probationary employees. After Tuesday’s layoffs, the Education Department’s staff will sit at roughly half of its previous 4,100, the agency said.

The layoffs are part of a dramatic downsizing directed by Trump as he moves to reduce the footprint of the federal government. Thousands of jobs are expected to be cut across the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Social Security Administration and other agencies.

The department is also terminating leases on buildings in cities including New York, Boston, Chicago and Cleveland, officials said.

Department officials said it would continue to deliver on its key functions such as the distribution of federal aid to schools, student loan management and oversight of Pell Grants.

Education Secretary Linda McMahon said when she got to the department, she wanted to reduce bloat to be able to send more money to local education authorities.

“So many of the programs are really excellent, so we need to make sure the money goes to the states,” McMahon said in an interview Tuesday on Fox News.

McMahon told employees to brace for profound cuts in a memo issued March 3, the day she was confirmed by the Senate. She said it was the department’s “final mission” to eliminate bureaucratic bloat and turn over the agency’s authority to states.

The department sent an email to employees Tuesday telling them its Washington headquarters and regional offices would be closed Wednesday, with access forbidden, before reopening Thursday.