In a social media post, Sen #PattyMurray, D-WA, called the potential changes "a clear violation of #education & #appropriations #law."

The Education Dept has a dedicated Office of #SpecialEducation & Rehabilitative Services, &, as w/the federal #StudentLoan portfolio, it's unclear how these collective responsibilities on behalf of #children w/ #disabilities could be moved legally w/o a vote of #Congress.

Multiple sources at #FSA who could not speak publicly for fear of #retribution said they were blindsided by the news.

Logistical challenges aside, the role of the office of Federal #Student #Aid as the administrator of the #StudentLoan portfolio is protected by #law. It's not clear how these responsibilities could be #legally moved w/o a vote of #Congress. [not that #Trump cares]

#Trump said he would move #StudentLoans "out of the Dept of #Education immediately" & that #KellyLoeffler & her staff are "all set for it. They're waiting for it. It'll be serviced much better than it has in the past. It's been a mess."

~8M federal #StudentLoan borrowers are in #legal limbo, not making loan payments, as #Biden-era repayment plans were frozen by a judge for being *potentially* illegal. Borrowers also can't currently enroll in the govt's income-driven repayment plans….

The federal #StudentLoan portfolio — which includes about $1.6T in loans for ~43M borrowers — is currently overseen by the #Education Dept's office of Federal #Student #Aid (#FSA). That office has been gutted by the recent raft of buyouts, early retirements & last week's broad reduction-in-force [#RIF].

It was not clear, based on #Trump's announcement, how or if the remaining employees & expertise at FSA would be transferred to the SBA.

The #Education Dept administers federal #grant programs, including the $18.4B #TitleI program that provides supplemental funding to high-#poverty K-12 #schools, as well as the $15.5B program that helps cover the cost of education for #students with #disabilities. The dept also oversees the $1.6T federal #StudentLoan program & sets rules for what #colleges must do to participate.

“Since its founding, the #CFPB has returned over $21B directly to #consumers. It’s helped #ServiceMembers who have been ripped off by unscrupulous lenders. It’s helped borrowers whose #StudentLoan servicers treated them unfairly; it’s helped families that have been scammed; & it’s helped thousands of Americans that have been charged extortionate fees by big #banks & other financial services providers,” Sen #ElizabethWarren said during a hearing this week.

Hall said Krause, Ramada & Hogan need unrestrained access to personal #information such as #SocialSecurity numbers & #BankAccount information to evaluate systems of records & programs in their aim to “better modernize.”

She also said Ramada’s team is responsible for assessing the #StudentLoan system & may need access to borrowers’ incomes to understand their ability to repay their #loans.

Ramada said he is employed by #DOGE & detailed to the #Education Dept, where he’s tasked with helping the agency “auditing contract, grant, & related programs for waste, fraud, & abuse,” including the federal #StudentLoan portfolio.

The decision delivers a small victory in the #Biden admin’s ongoing fight to alleviate federal #StudentLoan #debt, & a much-needed win after a series of #legal challenges have stymied those efforts. #StudentDebtRelief has become highly politicized & divisive as #conservatives seek to dismantle plans they *say* unfairly burden taxpayers & are a naked attempt at swaying voters [or they’re just bitter.]
#law #USpol #StudentLoanForgiveness #StudentLoans #students #education #VoteBlue #HarrisWalz2024

#Biden introduced the program, Saving on a Valuable #Education, last fall as millions of Americans resumed #StudentLoan payments following a hiatus of >3 yrs because of the pandemic.
The plan, commonly known as #SAVE, offered lower monthly payments & a faster path to #LoanCancellation. It was announced months after #SCOTUS justices divided along ideological lines…invalidate[d] a separate, $400B Biden admin program to forgive #StudentLoanDebt.

For #Biden, who has long resisted calls to reform #SCOTUS, the announcement Monday marked a major shift in his posture toward one of America’s three branches of government. Since assuming the presidency, the #SupremeCourt has veered sharply to the #right — overturning #RoeVWade, ending #AffirmativeAction in college admissions, weakening federal #agencies’ #power by overturning a 40-year decision & striking down Biden’s #StudentLoan forgiveness program.