Trump’s Plan to Move Student Loans to SBA Raises Concerns
Katherine Knott
March 21, 2025
The administration, which wants to close the Education Department, hasn’t said how it would move the $1.7 trillion portfolio to a new agency. Democrats say doing so would be a “clear violation” of the law.
A day after White House officials said the Education Department would administer the student loan program, President Donald Trump announced that the Small Business Administration would be taking over the $1.7 trillion portfolio.
He told White House reporters that the move would happen “immediately,” though he didn’t say how that process would work. Currently, federal law requires the Education Department to manage student loans, so the president doesn’t have the authority for the move, several experts and advocates said Friday.
Neither the White House nor the Small Business Administration responded to requests for more information or details about the plan.
In response to questions about how moving loans to SBA would work, the Education Department referred Inside Higher Ed to an interview that Education Secretary Linda McMahon did Friday with Fox News. McMahon said she’s working with the SBA on a strategic plan.
