Executive Order Focuses On Both K-12 & Higher Education As Trump Announces Move of FSA to Small Business Administration
Overview
Late yesterday the Administration officially released the long awaited Executive Order (EO), entitled “Improving Education Outcomes by Empowering Parents, Sates, and Communities (www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/improving-education-outcomes-by-empowering-parents-states-and-communities/),” which was signed around 4:30 PM ET yesterday. Of note was the inclusion in the EO of a paragraph speaking directly to the federal student loan program. The EO states:
“Closure of the Department of Education would drastically improve program implementation in higher education. The Department of Education currently manages a student loan debt portfolio of more than $1.6 trillion. This means the Federal student aid program is roughly the size of one of the Nation’s largest banks, Wells Fargo. But although Wells Fargo has more than 200,000 employees, the Department of Education has fewer than 1,500 in its Office of Federal Student Aid. The Department of Education is not a bank, and it must return bank functions to an entity equipped to serve America’s students.”
Building upon this statement in the EO, earlier today, President Trump stated during a meeting in the Oval Office that his Administration would be moving the student loan program to the Small Business Administration (SBA) “immediately.” President Trump stated:
“We have a portfolio that is very large, lots of loans, tens of thousands of loans, pretty complicated deal.” Continuing, “They’re all set for it, they’re waiting for it.”
This news comes after many in Washington had been under the assumption that the Treasury Department was the most likely candidate for any transition of the student loan program. But recent rumors were circulating that the Treasury Department was not inclined to take on the portfolio, and that discussions were being had with both the Department of Commerce and the SBA.
What’s Next
No details have been shared by the Administration or the Department of Education on how and when efforts to move the Federal Student Financial Aid programs would transpire. CSPEN will continue to seek out additional details and share information we obtain with the community. We anticipate a great deal of commentary regarding both the legality of such a shift and also whether efforts to make the transition would require Congressional action, as some have already asserted.
