Amid Reports of an Executive Order to Abolish ED, Democrats Press Department Official for Answers
By Maria Carrasco, NASFAA Staff Reporter
After reports that President Donald Trump is planning to sign an executive order to dismantle the Department of Education (ED), top Democrats in both the House and Senate called on ED to provide information on the steps the department is taking to ensure the continuity and administration of its programs.
The letter, sent to acting ED Secretary Denise Carter, was signed by Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, Patty Murray (D-Wash.), vice chair of the Senate Appropriation Committee, Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.), and Reps. Bobby Scott (D-Va.), ranking member of the House Education and Workforce Committee, and Rep. Rosa DeLauo (D-Conn.) ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee.
In the letter, the five lawmakers take issue with Trump’s “sweeping” executive orders where the administration has sought to “illegally freeze financial assistance,” pointing to the recent dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development. The letter also cites Trump’s attempt to freeze federal payments for grants and other programs, which was ultimately rescinded by the administration and blocked by a federal judge. Furthermore, the lawmakers alleged that Elon Musk – head of Trump’s “Department of Government Efficiency” – is gaining access to the federal government’s data systems – including ED.
“These actions appear to be part of a broader plan to dismantle the federal government until it is unable to function and meet the needs of the American people,” the lawmakers wrote. “We will not stand by and allow the impact that dismantling the Department of Education would have on the nation’s students, parents, borrowers, educators, and communities.”
The lawmakers write that they are particularly concerned with reports of non-government workers from the “Department of Government Efficiency” having access to sensitive, personally identifiable information that students and their families have shared with ED. This has also caused many workers across the federal government, including those at ED, to fear their jobs will be terminated or reclassified.
As ED continues to implement the 2025-26 FAFSA, the lawmakers stressed that it "cannot afford any disruptions to that critical work."
Therefore, the lawmakers requested several pieces of information from ED.
Specifically, they requested a list of all individuals – including their job titles and offices and whether they are federal government employees – who have been granted access to personally identifiable or sensitive information since January 20, and the training that was provided to these individuals to handle sensitive information.
The letter also wants ED to outline steps it has taken to protect sensitive and identifiable data, including data from the National Student Loan Data System, the Common Origination and Disbursement System, and the FAFSA Processing System.
Additionally, the lawmakers called on ED to provide a list of all workers placed on administrative leave or terminated from ED since January 20, and to provide all communication from ED to those workers since January 20.
The lawmakers also call on ED to confirm that it has not “frozen, paused, impeded, blocked, canceled, or terminated any awards or obligations” since January 20 other than the cancellation of training and service contracts announced by ED on January 23.
The lawmakers are requesting this information from ED by Friday, February 7.
“We urge you to provide information on the steps the Department is taking to ensure the continuity of programs that Americans depend on, the ability of the Department to effectively administer programs for their intended purposes without waste, fraud and abuse, and the safeguards in place to protect student data privacy,” the lawmakers wrote.
Publication Date: 2/7/2025
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