Under an agreement announced Thursday, the Treasury Department will take over management of student loans whose borrowers are in default, meaning they are months behind on payments. Those loans add up to about $180 billion, or 11% of the government’s $1.7 trillion student loan portfolio.

Eventually, the Treasury Department is to take responsibility for all student loans, according to the agreement. A second phase with no timeframe says Treasury will “assume operational responsibility” over non-defaulted loans, “to the extent practicable.”

Breaking off the student loan operation would mark the biggest step yet in closing the department, which President Donald Trump ordered to be dismantled almost exactly a year ago. Many Americans know the department mostly for its role doling out grants and loans for college, and those streams of funding are by far the agency’s largest.

Borrowers do not need to do anything as the change goes through, the administration says. They will continue to work with the same loan servicer and repay their loans the same way.

The 17-page agreement outlines a stunning realignment of the nation’s federal student loan programs, which have been overseen by the Education Department since it was created more than 40 years ago.

The agreement “marks an intentional and historic step toward breaking up the Federal education bureaucracy and dramatically improving the administration of Federal student aid programs,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a statement.

In justifying the change, Trump officials said the Education Department is “ill-equipped” to handle such a big loan portfolio. They blamed the Biden administration for focusing on efforts to cancel student loans rather then help borrowers get back on track with payments. Officials cited recent data showing that fewer than half of all borrowers are currently making payments on their loans, with almost a quarter in default.

Opponents raise concerns about borrower confusion

The agreement is likely to invite legal challenges. Some opponents note that federal law requires student loans to be overseen by the Education Department. Trump officials believe they’ve found a workaround by framing it as a partnership, with some components, including the policies underpinning student loans, remaining at the Education Department.

Student loan advocates condemned the move, saying it only adds to confusion as the Trump administration overhauls student loan programs.

“The Department of Education has issued a dizzying series of rule changes that make it harder for borrowers to figure out what their options are on their federal student loans,” said Kyra Taylor, an attorney at the National Consumer Law Center. She warned that any errors in loan collection would have “devastating effects on families.”

The move is part of Trump’s campaign to shutter the Education Department, an agency he says was overrun by liberal thinking. Only Congress has authority to close the department, but Trump officials are picking it apart through a series of inter-government agreements that relocate the department’s operations to other federal offices.

The future of the government’s enormous student loan portfolio has been one of the biggest unanswered questions. At her Senate confirmation hearing, Education Secretary Linda McMahon called Treasury a “natural” place for student loans. Trump later said they would be overseen by the Small Business Administration.

Conservatives have tried previously to move student loans

During Trump’s first term, his education chief talked about setting up a semi-private bank to manage student debt. The conservative Heritage Foundation promoted something similar in its Project 2025 plan, calling for a new “government corporation with professional governance and management.”

The Treasury Department often has been discussed as an option, yet student loans are seen as a particularly complex form of debt and some question whether the agency has the right technical expertise. In a 2015 pilot, Treasury tried to collect payments from a sample of thousands of borrowers in default. Its success rate was lower than that of the private collection agencies contracted by the Education Department.

Federal student loan borrowers are typically considered in default if they haven’t made a payment in more than 270 days. About 9.2 million Americans are in default on student loans, according to Education Department data released this month. Going into default can bring a heavy hit to credit scores, and the government can withhold pay and Social Security benefits.

The latest deal from the administration indicates a willingness to open up the hood of student loan operations at a perilous moment. About 12 million Americans are behind on federal student loan payments in some way, and the industry is bracing for a potentially historic surge in loan defaults as pandemic-era protections come to an end.

Earlier this year, Trump officials postponed their plans to restart involuntary collections on defaulted loans, which could have meant withheld earnings for millions of Americans. It’s seen as a politically volatile issue during a tough midterm year where affordability is already on voters’ minds.

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