White House Continues Effort to Dismantle ED With New Agency Partnerships
By Hugh T. Ferguson, NASFAA Managing Editor
The Trump administration's effort to fully dismantle the Department of Education (ED) continued on Tuesday with six new interagency agreements (IAAs) aimed at transferring several of the department’s responsibilities to other federal agencies.
While the president cannot eliminate ED or federal student aid programs without congressional approval, Tuesday’s action seeks to “break up the federal education bureaucracy,” ED stated in its announcement.
The partnerships include agreements with four agencies: the Departments of Labor (DOL), Interior (DOI), Health and Human Services (HHS), and State. According to ED, these IAAs, which touch on programs from the elementary to postsecondary level, aim to “streamline” education programs, reduce administrative burden, and “refocus” programs and activities. No plans were announced to redistribute the work conducted by the Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA), which manages and oversees the FAFSA as well as Title IV student aid programs, including federal Pell Grants, Direct Loans, and the Federal Work-Study program. However, it has been reported that ED has been exploring the possibility of moving some of FSA’s responsibilities to Treasury.
"The Trump Administration is taking bold action to break up the federal education bureaucracy and return education to the states,” said Secretary of Education Linda McMahon. “Cutting through layers of red tape in Washington is one essential piece of our final mission.”
On Tuesday, ED provided outlines of these six agreements, but several questions remain over the impact of this reorganization, as well as the timeline for transferring the work.
For postsecondary education, the department provided an outline of an IAA with DOL and explained that ED has broad authority to enter into contracts with other agencies, without congressional approval. However, DOL will only be able to provide administrative services while ED will still manage and oversee programs.
Per the guidance, DOL will “take on a greater role in administering postsecondary education grant programs authorized under the Higher Education Act (HEA).”
“With proper oversight by ED, DOL will manage grant funds, provide technical assistance, and integrate ED’s postsecondary education programs with the suite of programs DOL already administers,” the guidance reads. “ED will maintain all statutory responsibilities and will continue its oversight of these programs.”
However, NASFAA President and CEO Melanie Storey expressed growing concern that this restructuring by ED, following steep staff reductions, could further disrupt financial aid services for students and schools.
“Transferring these responsibilities to agencies without deep experience in higher education programs or policy risks creating new obstacles for students and the institutions that serve them,” Storey said. “Just as we would not expect ED staff to have a comprehensive understanding of employment law, for example, we can’t assume that employees in other agencies would have — or could quickly acquire — the specialized knowledge required to administer these programs effectively.”
The specific programs outlined in the IAA include programs currently managed by ED’s Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE): TRIO; Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP); Title III Part B Strengthening Historically Black Colleges and Universities Program; Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF); Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE); and others. As noted above, the Title IV student aid programs were not included in the IAA, as these are managed by FSA, not OPE.
While OPE manages the negotiated rulemaking process for federal student aid programs, this function was not mentioned in the IAA and appears unaffected by the new partnerships.
Additionally, DOI and HHS will take on, respectively, greater roles in overseeing Indian higher education programs and accreditation standards for foreign medical schools.
McMahon also said that the department will “work with Congress to codify these reforms,” since an act of Congress is required to reallocate these programs and assign their administration to other agencies.
Back in March, the president signed an executive order seeking to close the department, raising many questions over how ED’s operations would be impacted. NASFAA put together a Financial Aid Administrator Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) resource to provide information based on current law (primarily the Higher Education Act of 1965) and legislative procedure to help professionals address these inquiries.
As a reminder, ED is currently operating under a continuing resolution, which funds the department’s programs and prohibits the administration from carrying out additional reduction in force (RIF) notices through January 30, 2026.
This is a developing story with several unanswered questions that NASFAA is continuing to monitor. Stay tuned to Today’s News for more information.
Publication Date: 11/19/2025
Armand R | 11/24/2025 2:12:06 PM
The rise of Socialism in the United States is being undone, one brick at a time, by the current administration. ED and the Teacher's Union will not go quietly.
"... the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God."
James P | 11/19/2025 4:26:16 PM
All those federal employees did a horrendous job with FAFSA simplification. Cry me a river. Good riddance!
Luis J | 11/19/2025 2:1:52 PM
Just when FAFSA is starting out to have quality of life improvements, now they want to get rid of it :'( . I'm tired of watching ideocracy in real life. Imagine learning the different regulations for the 50 state on how to do financial aid?
Anthony S | 11/19/2025 12:30:20 PM
The poorly educated are easier to manipulate/control (Like trading a nickel for a dime). America has turned education into a business whereas other countries often prioritize consistent, equitable funding and provide teacher support. I believe its wrong to charge children for school lunches, but only several states have implemented change. America has failed the moment that we allowed Corporations to influence Congress decisions (Citizens United needs to be abolished).
David S | 11/19/2025 12:9:00 PM
James - Staff that we all partnered with to make federal programs work were almost all laid off, and now the work they did is being dumped in the laps of departments who also lost staff and have never been exposed to or responsible for these tasks. If this sounds like “efficiency” to you, I don’t know what to tell you.
I have many friends and family overseas, I am in fact out of the country as I write this. People around the world already don’t understand our out of control costs and the crush of student loans debt, and now the loud and clear message that we need fewer educated citizens. Trust me, no one envies what US students are faced with.
Jesse H | 11/19/2025 11:8:42 AM
Sorry, James, but I could not disagree more with your assessment. If the president and Education Secretary's goal of eliminating the Department of Education is carried through and college student aid is eventually delegated to the states, that will be replacing a single federal bureaucracy with 50 separate state ones, which is a recipe for Byzantine chaos and wild disparity of college access depending on where you happen to live, not government efficiency. America's number of international students has fallen by 17% in the 2025-2026 academic year, so your last statement is also questionable.
James P | 11/19/2025 9:2:05 AM
This initiative is a bold, pragmatic move to cut through federal inefficiency and streamline education programs. By drawing on the strengths of partner agencies while preserving ED’s statutory authority, it positions the system for faster decision-making, reduced bureaucracy, and smarter alignment of resources. It’s an important step toward a leaner, more responsive federal education structure that better serves students and institutions alike. The rest of the world looks upon America with envy and wants to come here.
David S | 11/19/2025 8:40:35 AM
Never thought I’d see an administration go out of its way to educate fewer Americans. But here we are. The rest of the world thinks we’ve lost our minds.
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