Lawmakers grilled Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer on the agency‘s controversial decision to pause Job Corps centers across the country during her appearance Thursday before the House Education and Workforce Committee.

The Trump administration had sought to shut down the program, which provides free education and vocational training for low-income people between the ages of 16 and 24 across the country. A federal judge, though, blocked the effort Wednesday night, putting it on pause. The controversy featured heavily in the hearing on Thursday.

Recommended Stories

• Jeffries says ‘Republican civil war’ is brewing as Senate debates reconciliation bill
• Vern Buchanan introduces bill seeking to reduce diabetes, obesity in military
• Jewish lawmakers worry for safety after antisemitic attacks: ‘Feels like open hunting season’

“Madam secretary made a snarky, abrupt shift from a champion to a destroyer of this important program,” Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) said.

The Jobs Corps long enjoyed bipartisan support, and the Labor Department’s move to shut it down has proven controversial.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle grilled Chavez-DeRemer over the decision. Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA), whose district includes a Job Corps center, called the pause damaging.

“Job Corps is transformational. It leads to a job and critical goals of healthcare and manufacturing,” Lee said. “I can’t understand why you decided to close the center.”

Lee also criticized Chavez-DeRemer’s responses during the questioning as “disrespectful” and wasting time.

Ninety-nine Job Corps centers nationwide have been ordered to halt operations by June 30, Bonamici said.

“The students are distraught and so are the local communities,” Bonamici said.

In response, Chavez-DeRemer said Job Corps centers are “financially unsustainable and oftentimes dangerous” with an “exorbitant per-graduate cost and an alarming number of serious incidents reported by participants.”

The Labor Department released a “Job Corps Transparency Report” on April 25, which said that that in 2023 alone, 14,000 serious incidents were reported at Job Corps centers, including cases of sexual assault, physical violence, and drug use.

Centers cost almost $20,000 more a year for a student to attend than it does for them to attend Harvard University, according to Chavez-DeRemer.

As part of the department’s long-term strategy, Chavez-DeRemer said the Job Corps centers will be phased out and replaced with safer alternatives, such as registered apprenticeship programs.

Rep. John Mannion (D-NY) said he supports the decision to expand the apprenticeship program. He added that he has seen “transformation in people’s lives” through an apprenticeship program in New York.

LABOR DEPARTMENT CUTS $400 MILLION FROM UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS SYSTEM ‘RIDDLED WITH WASTE’

The administration declared a goal of 1 million new active apprentices, a 50% increase over current levels.

“Our nation’s vulnerable young adults deserve better, and I am committed to connecting all participants with the resources they need to succeed as this transition takes place and we evaluate future possibilities,” Chavez-DeRemer said.