DOGE Puts the Department of Education in Its Crosshairs

Abolishing ED would have massive implications across the country

The first few months of the Trump administration have likely been the most eventful of any administration in decades, with many implications for education policy.

In addition to several sweeping executive orders, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), is making waves under Elon Musk.

There are many likely effects in the education space. President Trump and Musk have called for winding down the Department of Education (ED) and have sought to do so in a new executive order that prepares a wind-down for the department. After a closure notice this past week, nearly half of the ED staff are set to be laid off. Recently confirmed education secretary Linda McMahon acknowledged in her confirmation hearing that completely eliminating ED will still require an act of Congress. Earlier in February, DOGE officials gained credentials that give them access to the ED building, and some have full administrative privileges to access the IT system. The DOGE team has also reportedly used AI to analyze personal and financial data from ED.

The Trump administration is also looking to cut funding to universities through various purse strings including the National Science Foundation (NSF) and National Institutes of Health (NIH). The administration has also decided to cap university overhead reimbursements on NIH grants made to universities at 15 percent. Earlier this month, the administration announced it’s cutting $400 million in grants to Columbia University.

Various legal challenges will likely impede DOGE’s overall objectives of reducing government spending and curbing the administrative state, and could take years to work their way through the legal system.

In addition, the federal labor force has been offered buyouts, which public sector unions and others have opposed and urged employees not to take. There are also disagreements between senior civil servants and political appointees around whether such buyout agreements are binding, legal, and how exactly they would operate.

Potentially, defunding the ED may reduce the federal headcount as well as administrative bloat and return education policy to the states. However, the fate of other student debt programs looms large in the short-run. Student loan forgiveness, which began during the Biden administration and had also faced court challenges for exceeding executive authority, may end up being mooted by this administration. In addition, it’s possible that the student loan payment moratorium which began during the pandemic could also be ended by the Trump administration, forcing payments to resume.

Another target of the administration will likely be the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF). PSLF was signed into law in 2007 by George W. Bush and cancels student loan debt for federal borrowers working in a qualifying public-service job after 10 years. Unlike Biden’s loan forgiveness scheme that can be undone by executive order because it was initiated by EO, eliminating PSLF will require an act of Congress.

As we’ve written before, comprehensive education reform that helps Americans across all income levels requires much more than student debt forgiveness that skews toward high-skilled, higher-income individuals.

Education reform focused on promoting opportunity and mobility would consist of broadly cracking down on federal subsidies for negative ROI degree programs. Doing so would help align incentives between universities and the federal government allocating taxpayer dollars. Legislation like the College Cost Reduction Act could shift toward more income-based repayment, increase transparency around college costs through disclosures about tuition, fees, and financial aid, end regional accreditation monopolies, and make sure colleges are accountable by adjusting subsidies based on student outcomes.

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