Staffing reductions at Education Department haven’t hit FAFSA office amid Trump cuts, agency says

Staffing reductions have not hit the Department of Education’s Office of Federal Student Aid, despite orders to dramatically cut staff in half and work to dismantle the agency. 

The Department of Education unveiled plans on March 11 to cut its staff in half, and President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday to shutter the agency. 

But those handling student loan services were not let go, according to a department spokesperson. 

“No employees working on the FAFSA or student loan servicing were impacted by the reduction in force,” Madi Biedermann, a spokesperson for the Education Department, said in a statement to Fox News Digital. 

The Department of Education’s Office of Federal Student Aid processes over 17.6 million Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) forms annually with a staff of roughly 1,400 employees, according to its 2024 report. 

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Meanwhile, the Trump administration’s Education Department said it is further ahead processing FAFSA forms than the Biden administration at this same time last year. The agency announced on March 17 that it had already submitted and processed 8 million 2025-2026 FAFSA forms – a 50% increase in comparison to the previous year. 

A Gallup poll released in February shows that Americans’ satisfaction with the state of education has declined sharply over the past decade. The poll found that only 24% of Americans are satisfied with the quality of education in the U.S. as of January 2025, compared to 37% in January 2017.

Trump’s order to dismantle the Education Department comes after he’s long harped against the agency, claiming on the campaign trail in September that he wanted to cut down on the federal government’s influence over education to “stop the abuse of your taxpayer dollars to indoctrinate America’s youth.”

On Thursday, Trump said that despite plans to scale down the agency, functions of the department overseeing Pell Grants, student loans, and others that provide services for those with special needs would continue. However, they would move to other agencies. 

“They’re going to be preserved in full and redistributed to various other agencies and departments that will take very good care of them,” Trump said.

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A White House fact sheet on the executive order said the directive aims to “turn over education to families instead of bureaucracies” and instructs Education Secretary Linda McMahon to “take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return education authority to the States, while continuing to ensure the effective and uninterrupted delivery of services, programs, and benefits on which Americans rely.”

Supporters of shutting down the agency have cited the “Nation’s Report Card,” the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress, released every two years, published Jan. 27. The exam tests fourth- and eighth-grade students and found almost stagnant math scores for eighth graders compared to 2022. Reading scores dropped two points at both grade levels.

Meanwhile, the executive order is facing multiple lawsuits from unions, school districts and other groups who argue that eliminating the department is unlawful, as only Congress has the authority to shut down a federal agency.

Additionally, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called on the courts to step in and block Trump’s efforts to wipe out the department. 

“The courts must act to uphold the rule of law and stop Donald Trump’s tyrannical power grab,” Schumer said in a statement Thursday. 

However, McMahon said the department would partner with Congress to move ahead with plans to close the agency. 

“We’re going to follow the law and eliminate the bureaucracy responsibly by working through Congress to ensure a lawful and orderly transition,” McMahon said in a statement Thursday.