The Reform That Would Mark the Beginning of the End for the Department of Education

Moving the student loan portfolio to the Treasury Department would benefit both borrowers and taxpayers.

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President Donald Trump poses with U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon after signing an executive order to shut down the Department of Education, during an event in the East Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., March 20, 2025.

Carlos Barria/Reuters

Since taking office, the Trump administration has pledged to eliminate the U.S. Department of Education. Yet a year into his tenure, the president has made only slow progress toward that goal, trimming agency personnel around the edges but failing to take a hammer to the agency.

There is one promising reform, however, that would indicate real movement toward the goal: reallocating the Department of Educationโ€™s student loan portfolio to the Department of the Treasury. The student loan portfolio is the biggest responsibility of the Federal Student Aid office, which is the departmentโ€™s largest unit by both staff and budget. Moving the program to Treasury would therefore significantly shrink the size and scope of the Department of Education. Moreover, both borrowers and taxpayers would benefit from this move.

Andrew Gillen

About the Author

Andrew Gillen

Andrew Gillen is a research fellow at the Cato Institute.

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