Sen. Elizabeth Warren is urging Training Secretary Linda McMahon to reinstate former Division of Training workers who had been crucial to the nation’s federal pupil support course of or else debtors will undergo “dire penalties,” in accordance with a letter Warren despatched to McMahon on Wednesday.
“The Division of Training (ED) seems to be abandoning the thousands and thousands of oldsters, college students, and debtors who depend on a functioning federal pupil support system to decrease schooling prices,” Warren and a gaggle of Democratic senators wrote in a letter to McMahon.
“ED ought to instantly restore all fired [Federal Student Aid] workers answerable for reviewing pupil support complaints and chorus from taking any measures to discourage the submission of complaints,” the senators added.
The Training Division meant to take away the “Submit a Grievance” button from FSA’s web site, in accordance with the letter. It discovered a senior worker on the division known as the transfer an “general win” because the change would lower the quantity and variety of complaints. However greater than 90% of the workplace’s complaints had been submitted on-line final 12 months.
Rating member Sen. Elizabeth Warren attends a Senate Banking, Housing and City Affairs Committee affirmation listening to in Dirksen constructing on Feb. 27, 2025.
Tom Williams/AP
“ED’s actions will harm mother and father making an attempt to grasp the way to submit the FAFSA appropriately in order that they’ll afford to ship their youngster to school, veterans whose mortgage reimbursement standing has been processed incorrectly resulting from their deployment, and college students whose support is being improperly withheld by predatory for-profit colleges,” the letter mentioned.
The letter alleges the FSA web site adjustments — like shifting the submit a grievance operate — weakens FSA’s capability to resolve complaints and places debtors susceptible to mortgage scams. Warren, D-Mass., and the senators demand solutions in regards to the company’s grievance backlog, why the division fired the civil servants, and the way a lot affect Elon Musk and the Division of Authorities Effectivity had on the firings.
“Donald Trump is telling college students that if you happen to’re scammed by your pupil mortgage servicer or have an issue getting the help it’s worthwhile to go to school, he doesn’t care,” Warren mentioned in an announcement to ABC Information. “Secretary McMahon helps Trump rip alternatives away from youngsters who simply need a good schooling, and in consequence, actual individuals will get harm. Democrats within the Senate will not be going to roll over and quit on our children — we’re combating again,” Warren added.
This comes as President Donald Trump is anticipated to signal an govt order to intestine the U.S. Division of Training on the White Home on Wednesday, a number of sources acquainted informed ABC Information. The president’s order will direct McMahon to take all crucial steps permitted by regulation to dissolve division, in accordance with the sources acquainted. It could take 60 votes within the Senate to dismantle the company that Congress created.
The schooling division took its first steps to eradicate almost half the company’s workforce final week by means of a large discount in drive, deferred resignations and retirement buyouts, in accordance with the company. After a federal decide ordered that former probationary workers be reinstated, dozens had been rehired. A supply acquainted informed ABC Information that many of the discount in drive impacted the places of work for Civil Rights and Federal Pupil Assist. FSA civil servants are tasked with serving to the nation’s college students obtain greater schooling, together with overseeing a $1.6 trillion portfolio of pupil loans.
FSA acquired almost 300,000 complaints in Fiscal Yr 2024, in accordance with the letter. The workplace had about 1,400 workers earlier than the layoffs and lots of will likely be misplaced after final week’s cuts.
Nonetheless, the division will proceed to manage its statutory capabilities that college students from deprived backgrounds depend on, together with grants, components funding and loans, McMahon harassed lately.
“We needed to ensure that we saved all the proper individuals, the great individuals, to ensure that the outward-facing applications, the grants, the appropriations that come from Congress, all of which can be being met and none of that’s going to fall by means of the cracks,” she mentioned on “The Ingraham Angle” on Fox Information.
Linda McMahon, President Trump’s nominee to be secretary of Training, testifies earlier than a Senate Well being, Training, Labor, and Pensions Committee affirmation listening to on Capitol Hill in Washington, Feb. 13, 2025.
Tierney L Cross/Reuters
FSA’s operations have already been impacted, in accordance with a supply acquainted. The federal pupil mortgage web site was down briefly final week. Lower than 24 hours after being fired, IT workers had been known as frantically to hitch an hours-long troubleshooting name, in accordance with the supply.
All through President Joe Biden’s tenure there have been widespread issues with the Free Utility for Federal Pupil Assist, or FAFSA, kind. Throughout a Home Committee on Appropriations listening to final spring former Training Secretary Miguel Cardona mentioned the division was engaged on fixing the botched rollout of the shape “across the clock.” McMahon’s division touted a 50% improve on the variety of FAFSA applications submitted in comparison with this time final 12 months.
Warren and Sen. Bernie Sanders, the rating member on the Senate’s Well being, Training, Labor and Pensions committee, had been among the many 11 lawmakers who signed the letter. The deadline for the administration to reply is March 25.
A former FSA legal professional, who did oversight and enforcement within the borrower protection unit, mentioned they had been heartbroken after they had been let go from their dream job on Valentine’s Day.
For the reason that checks stopped coming in final month, the previous worker mentioned it’s been tough residing on unemployment advantages. The previous worker described making a few fifth of what they introduced in earlier than being fired.
Nonetheless, they mentioned the letter to McMahon offers them renewed hope.
“If I might get my job again I might take it in a heartbeat,” the previous FSA legal professional informed ABC Information, including, “I liked the work that we did.”
