Education Secretary Linda McMahon said the federal shutdown offers evidence that her agency is "unnecessary."
In a social media post on Wednesday, McMahon said the shutdown has forced agencies to evaluate what work is really needed. She made the comment days after her department started firing hundreds of workers amid mass layoffs across the government.
"Two weeks in, millions of American students are still going to school, teachers are getting paid, and schools are operating as normal," McMahon said.
McMahon said no federal education funding was affected by the layoffs.
READ MORE: How the government shutdown will affect the already shrunken Education Department
Advocates say the firings threaten to disrupt the flow of federal money to America's schools. The cuts eliminated teams that disburse federal money and answer questions on federal education laws.