The Trump administration has taken a significant step toward shutting down the Department of Education by transferring one of its largest responsibilities, student loan operations, to the Treasury Department.
The move signals what officials describe as the most substantial phase yet in a broader effort to wind down the federal agency.
Major Shift in Student Loan Control
The Department of Education announced an interagency agreement with the Treasury Department that will transfer responsibility for collecting defaulted federal student loan debt.
Under the agreement, Treasury will “assume operational responsibility for collecting on defaulted Federal student loan debt and provide operational support to ED’s efforts to return borrowers to repayment,” the department said.
Nicholas Kent, Undersecretary of Education, described the move as part of a larger strategy:
“I think we’ve been very clear about this last week that this is a multiphase process.”