According to Education Data Initiative, currently the Department of Education oversees about $1.62 trillion dollars worth of federal student loans. So if the Department of Education disappears, does the federal loan assistance disappear too?

Not Necessarily.

According to Project 2025, federal loans will be “assigned directly to the Treasury Department” meaning that the treasury department would still administer the student loan programs even if the department of education is not there. Hooray!

However, the funding for the student loans program may be reduced as “student loans and grants should be ultimately restored to the private sector”, meaning that states and organizations would have to rely on their own for funding. Therefore, this may reflect on the reduction of the amount of aid handed out to students.

So, is this possible? Can Trump really DISSOLVE a whole federal department?

No. Very highly unlikely. In order to dissolve the department of education, Trump would need a majority of 60 senators to agree with him, which is very unlikely. He may perhaps succeed in funneling the funding to other departments, but he is highly unlikely to succeed in eliminating funding entirely. It is probable that Trump might suggest incentives to schools to receive funding, even though it is illegal for federal agencies to influence a state’s public school curriculum.

In conclusion, even if the Department of Education is dissolved, NYSMDA students do not have to worry - because student loan assistance will not dissolve with it! However, there may be a reduction in amount due to the Trump administration’s growing interest in other initiatives, according to Government Executive news, such as immigration related agencies (Homeland Security Department), and public health agencies (Health and Human Services Department).