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Trump to rehouse student loans, other programs amid push to close Education Department • Tennessee Lookout

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump said Friday that U.S. Small Business Administrators will handle the aging Education Department’s student loan portfolio, and that the Department of Health and Human Services will handle special education services and nutrition programs.

An announcement posed countless logistics questions to carry out these permission transfers came the following day Trump signed A drastic executive order directing Education Secretary Linda McMahon to “take all necessary steps to promote closure” to the extent permitted by law.

“I would like to say that SBA, the SBA led by Kelly Loeffler, has decided to handle all of its student loan portfolios,” Trump said Friday morning.

The White House did not provide advance notice of the announcement Trump made when he made an oval office appearance with Defense Secretary Pete Hegses.

According to the White House, the education sector manages student loans for millions of Americans, with a portfolio of over $1.6 trillion.

In him Executive Order, Trump said the federal student aid program is “the size of Wells Fargo, almost one of the nation’s largest banks,” and “Wells Fargo has more than 200,000 employees, while the Department of Education has fewer than 1,500 in the Federal Student Aid Agency.”

“Everything else” to HHS

Meanwhile, Trump also said the Department of Health and Human Services would “take care of special needs and all nutrition programs and everything else.”

It is unclear what nutritional program Trump was referring to, as administered by the USDA. School meals Other major nutrition programs.

One of the core functions of the education sector involves supporting students with special needs. The department is also tasked with implementing a federal guarantee of free public education for people with disabilities approved by the Disability Education Act or Ideas.

Trump added that the transfer “works very well.”

“These two elements will be removed from the Department of Education,” he said Friday. “And all we have to do is have students love them and cherish them to be fully involved in their education from people, including their parents.

Trump’s Thursday order also directs McMahon to “return authority over education back to states and communities while ensuring effective and uninterrupted delivery of services, programs and benefits that Americans rely on.”

SBA, HHS Head welcomes additional programs

Asked to clarify the announcement, a White House spokesman on Friday introduced the state newsroom to comments from White House press chief Caroline Leavitt and the director of Small Business Management and Health and Human Services.

Leavitt said the move coincided with Trump’s promise to bring education policy decisions back to the nation.

“President Trump is doing everything within his executive branch to dismantle the Department of Education and bring education back to the state, while protecting key students and families functions, including student loans, special needs programs, and nutrition programs,” Leavitt said. “The President has always said that Congress has a role to play in this effort. We hope they will help the President deliver.”

Loeffler and HHS secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said their institution is ready to participate in the Education Division program.

“As the government’s biggest business loan guarantor, the SBA is ready to deploy resources and expertise on behalf of American taxpayers and students,” says Loeffler.

Kennedy, Social Media Platforms X said his department is “ready to assume responsibility for supporting individuals with special needs and overseeing the nutritional programme run by @usedgov.”

Education department has turned state newsrooms to McMahon Fox News remarks on Fridayshe said she is in discussions with other federal agencies where the program could end, and she has had a “good conversation” with Loeffler, and the two are “intent on working on a strategic plan.”

Last updated at 4:28pm, March 21, 2025