What Would Happen if the Department of Education was Abolished?

President Donald Trump has repeatedly vowed to abolish the Department of Education (ED). In early February 2025, it was reported that members of the newly-created Department of Government Efficiency team, headed by Elon Musk, had obtained access to the Department of Education—sparking speculation that attempts to dismantle the department are imminent. What Would Happen if the Department of Education was Abolished? What would this mean for you? Specifically, how would dismantling the Department of Education impact student loans? Let’s dive in.

What is the Department of Education?

Since 1980, the U.S. Department of Education has operated as a cabinet-level agency tasked with establishing and implementing education policies as well as coordinating federal assistance. A previous iteration of ED, known primarily as the Office of Education, operated within the U.S. Department of the Interior from 1867. In its current form, ED was established by the Department of Education Organization Act, which the recently deceased President Jimmy Carter signed into law in 1979. The Department of Education Act separated the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare into the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services.

The Department of Education Organization Act also installed a Secretary of Education as head of the department. The current acting Secretary of Education is Denise L. Carter, who is serving in an interim role pending U.S. Senate confirmation of President Trump’s selection for the role, former World Wrestling Entertainment CEO Linda McMahon. Fun Fact: the Secretary of Education is 16th in the presidential line of succession.

What Would Happen if the Department of Education was Abolished? (Continued)

The Department of Education was created primarily to ensure equal access to education and enforce educational standards at a national level (with the latter stemming partly from Cold War era concerns about Americans falling behind in science in math). As is the case for many different sectors of U.S. government, debates over the Department of Education reflect tensions regarding how to balance state and/or local responsibilities with the need for nationwide consistency and federal oversight related to the twin goals of access and excellence.

The Department of Education has the smallest staff of the 15 cabinet agencies—employing approximately 4,400 employees. In Fiscal Year 2025, ED had $103.09 billion distributed among its sub-components, which include:

• Federal Student Aid (FSA)
• Institute of Education Sciences (IES)
• Office for Civil Rights (OCR)
• Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE)
• Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE)
• Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA)
• Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE)
• Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS)

What does the Department of Education Do?    

Department of Education programs are authorized by Congress and signed into law by the president. The Department is then tasked with developing regulations and operating said programs. Regulations are made available for public comment and reviewed by Congress before being finalized. Congress is also tasked with appropriating funds towards each program.

The Department of Education describes itself as engaging in four types of activities:

Federal Financial Aid for Education

ED establishes policies relating to federal financial aid, administers distribution of those funds, and monitors their use. While the public is most aware of financial aid for higher education, ED actually distributes aid more widely throughout the nation, including for early childhood and elementary education programs.

Federal funds are distributed using three methods:

Set formulas are used to distribute funding depending on the number of students meeting certain criteria in a state or school district (for example, the number of children with disabilities).

Competitive applications are used to award federal money based on merit.

What Would Happen if the Department of Education was Abolished? (Continued)

Financial need-based determinations are used to award grants, loans, and fellowships based on established guidelines.

Data Collection, Research, and Information Dissemination

ED oversees research on education, gathers and interprets data, and disseminates both generalized and more targeted information on best educational practices.

Identification of Issues and Recommendations for Reform

Via the Secretary of Education, the Department of Education advises the president on education reform, identifies priorities, and makes specific policy recommendations. To this end, ED works with advisory groups, states and local school districts, and the public.

What Would Happen if the Department of Education was Abolished? (Continued)

Enforcement of Federal Statutes Prohibiting Discrimination and Ensuring Equal Access to Education

ED enforces five civil rights statutes to ensure equal educational opportunity for all students, regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, or age. These laws cover all entities that receive Department of Education funds, including state education agencies, elementary and secondary school systems, colleges and universities, and public libraries and museums.

Despite its lightning rod status, the Department of Education has a relatively small fiscal footprint—accounting for less than 3% of all federal spending.

Why Does President Trump Want to Abolish the Department of Education?

First, it should be noted that heated debates over the role of the Department of Education and Republican attempts to abolish it are not new.  Since it was established in 1980, the department has faced repeated calls for elimination.

President Ronald Reagan campaigned on abolishing ED, and identified it as a priority when he took office in 1981, but abandoned the effort due to lack of congressional support (which itself stemmed from public interest in maintaining ED).

In 2011, presidential candidate and then Texas Governor Rick Perry named the Department of Education as one of three federal agencies he planned to eliminate if elected, but the proposal was overshadowed by Perry’s  gaffe during the debate (in which he could not name the third agency) and the idea failed to gain traction.

As recently as last year, the House of Representatives considered an amendment to a bill that sought to eliminate the Department of Education. The attempt failed when more than 60 Republicans joined Democrats in rejecting the amendment.

What Would Happen if the Department of Education was Abolished? (Continued)

This time might be different, though, and abolishing the Department of Education is becoming an increasingly mainstream idea in conservative policymaking. Likewise, partisan divides over education are only widening, with the vast majority of Republican voters expressing unfavorable opinions of the Department of Education.

The official  2024 GOP Platform identified plans to “close the Department of Education in Washington, D.C. and send it back to the States, where it belongs” in order to “ let the States run our educational system as it should be run.” In this way, the Trump administration is framing the proposal according to its broader “drain the swamp” and “states’ rights” rhetoric, and also positioning ED at the center of culture wars related to, among other topics, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Already, dozens of ED employees have been placed on paid administrative leave in response the executive order banning diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in the federal government.

Likewise, Project 2025—the conservative policy agenda published by the Heritage Foundation—made a case for eliminating the Department of Education. In particular, Project 2025 authors object to the Department of Education’s large budget, regulatory power, and enforcement duties—which they critique as examples of government inference and bureaucratic overreach.

What Would Happen if the Department of Education is Abolished?

First of all, it is not entirely clear how the Trump administration might go about abolishing the Department of Education, nor whether President Trump even has the authority abolish ED via executive action.

Most experts agree that the executive branch would need congressional approval to dismantle a federal agency—which would be an uphill battle based on the slim margins Republicans hold in both the House and Senate (where a vote to abolish ED would need to meet a 60-vote threshold). Hence, it seems more likely that the Trump administration will seek to chip away at the Department of Education without officially dismantling it.

For example, the president could seek to prohibit the Department of Education from performing any functions not clearly outlined in statute. Other “how to” proposals involve merging the Department of Education with other agencies and/or dismantling ED by moving programs, funds, and staff to other agencies.

Complicating the situation is the widespread uncertainty regarding the authority and influence of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk. Recently, at the behest of DOGE, the Trump administration terminated more than $900 million in ED contracts. The cuts primarily affect the agency’s Institute of Education Sciences (IES), which is one of the country’s largest funders of education research.

What Would Happen if the Department of Education was Abolished? (Continued)

In general, further cuts or attempts to reorganize or downsize the agency would likely result in the following:

• ED activities related to data collection, research, educational reform, and information dissemination would be deprioritized.
• Confusion and legal challenges related to the changes, as well as the loss of personnel, would result in disruptions to or the reduction of federal funding dispersed to states according to set formulas or other methods.
• While dismantling ED would not necessarily eliminate the federal education laws, protections for certain demographics, including special needs or low-income students, might no longer be enforced at a national level. The status of and funding for Title I and Title IX programs, for example, would be uncertain.

Federal funding for education varies by state, meaning that states that rely more heavily on federal funding will experience the most impact should ED be downsized, reorganized, or eliminated. Such changes to ED could also result in certain programs (including student aid programs) being shifted to the states.

How Would Abolishing the Department of Education Impact Federal Student Aid for Higher Education?

As of January 2024, the Department of Education managed $1.5 trillion in federal loans for nearly 43 million borrowers. The federal student loan system is administered through the Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA), which manages loan disbursement, loan servicing, and borrower assistance. FSA is staffed by more than 1,400 employees who help administer financial aid to more than 9.9 million students annually.

Perhaps most notably, FSA administers the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) and uses it to award Pell Grants, Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants, Perkins Loans, Stafford Loans, and Federal Works-Study jobs. FSA processes more than 17.6 million FAFSA forms annually. FAFSA is also used at the state level and by individual colleges and universities to determine need-based eligibility.

With the caveat that the situation is fluid and changing daily, here’s what you need to know about how the dissolution of or significant cuts to the Department of Education would affect financial aid:

Student Loans Would Not Disappear

If the Department of Education is abolished, it almost certainly will not mean the end of the federal student loan system. Instead, the Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) would be absorbed by a different agency (likely the Department of Treasury.

The federal government would still be responsible for managing the outstanding federal student loan portfolio and securing repayment from federal student loan borrowers. Millions of loan accounts would be transferred. Absorbing the FSA and other ED operations would strain other departments.

Disruptions and Information Vacuums

Students and families would have difficulty learning about the availability of federal student aid programs or securing technical assistance. If ED is dissolved or reorganized, there will be a period of time where it is difficult to access accurate information.

Moreover, all financial aid application and disbursement processes would be disrupted. This cycle’s FAFSA rollout would be delayed.

Possible Elimination of Some Grants and Student Loan Relief Programs

While student loans would still exist, FSA also administers a range of other student aid programs. Funding and operations for many grant programs, in particular, could cease.

Relatedly, Republican lawmakers are already seeking to limit or repeal federal student loan forgiveness programs, including Public Service Loan Forgiveness, that were expanded under the Biden administration.

Greater Reliance on Private Lenders

More students may turn to private lenders and hence be subjected to higher interest rates and more limited repayment or relief options.

In conclusion, even if attempts to abolish the Department of Education fail, recent action taken by DOGE as well as promises issued by both the Trump administration and Republican lawmakers, suggest that both current and prospective college students should expect to encounter FSA website issues, difficulty securing up-to-date information, disruptions to the FAFSA, and potentially even changes to the eligibility requirements and formulas. Students should also take note of likely changes to student loan forgiveness programs when deciding whether or how much to borrow.

Additional Resources

• College Cost of Attendance (by School)
• Need-Based Financial Aid (by College)
• Common Data Set Repository
• Percent of Americans with College Degrees’
• College Student Mental Health Statistics
• Student Loan Forgiveness Update