The Small Business Administration (SBA) will oversee student loans for around 40 million borrowers, US President Donald Trump said Friday the day after he ordered the dismantling of the education sector.
Moving the majority of educational institutions to the shutter, a campaign promise from Trump, has raised questions about what will happen to services out there, including student loan management.
“(The SBA) is setting it all up. They’re waiting for it and it’s going to offer much better service than it was in the past, that was a mess,” Trump said in his oval office on Friday.
Trump said the loan move would happen “quickly,” but no timeline details were provided.
In addition to taking over the SBA student loans, Trump said the Department of Health and Human Services department will begin processing services for students. This is another feature that the education department has performed previously.
“(Robert F. Kennedy Jr.) will handle all the special needs and all the nutritional programs and everything else. It’s pretty complicated,” Trump said.
Earlier in the week, Trump accused the education sector of a “breathless failure” and vowed to return the money it controls to individual states.
The state already manages most aspects of education in the United States, including curriculum setting. Most US children attend public schools. Public schools are free and run by state and local officials.
The federal agency handled a loan program that helped students pay university tuition fees.
Shifts will occur as the Trump administration continues to cut government spending, shut down agencies and fire staff.
The SBA announced on Friday individually that it plans to cut more than 40% of its workforce.
Officials said the cuts could save more than $435 million a year by next year.
