The Department of Education (ED) has published a “living document” with Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and information on virtual office hours to support HR 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025 (P.L.119-21) (OBBB).
The first round of FAQs on student loan reforms is posted. The Department considers the FAQs to be a living document and will continue to post new and updated FAQs as they become available.
Last week, the Department of Education released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that would establish a postsecondary education accountability framework imposing stricter rules related to federal student loans and earning thresholds.
Under the proposed rule, if the typical graduate of a particular program does not earn as much as a high school graduate, the program would be ineligible for federal student loans. Similarly, graduate programs would need to demonstrate leading to earnings above those of an average bachelor’s degree holder.
These accountability measures stem from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, and the agency characterizes this as the latest step in a promise to “break the cycle of low return on investment for students and taxpayers.”
The full NPRM can be found here.
A number of agencies are making available their specific budget request documents.
As expected, the Trump Administration released its FY2027 budget request today. The initial set of budget documents published this morning can be found here.
Our office will continue to provide further updates as we review the documents but some of the initial proposals are as follows:
Health and Human Services
Dept of Education
The Education Department would see a cut of $2.3 billion, or 2.9%, below the FY2026 level, for a total of $76.5 billion.
National Science Foundation
Like last year’s budget proposal, this year’s also seeks to drastically cut NSF. Overall, the Administration would fund NSF at $4.0 billion, a cut of $4.8 billion, or nearly 55%.
Department of War
As expected, the Administration calls for a budget of $1.5 trillion for the agency, which would represent an increase of more than $440 billion, or 44%.
One of the priorities for the department is “maritime dominance.”
NASA
NASA would seen an overall decrease of $5.6 billion, or 23%, to $18.8 billion for FY2027.
Within NASA, the Science Mission Directorate would be cut by $3.4 billion, with 40 “low-priority” missions eliminated.
Space Tech would be cut by $297 million and the Office of STEM Engagement, where Space Grant is housed, would be cut by $143 million.
Department of Energy (DOE)
Dept of Energy would see a bump of $4.8 billion, or about 10%, to a total of $53.9 billion
The Office of Science and ARPA-E would both see cuts, with Science slated for a decrease of $1.1 billion and a $150- million cut targeted for ARPA-E.
NOAA
The Administration is once looking to cut NOAA, with the FY2027 budget calling for a $1.6-billion decrease and proposing to fund the agency at $4.0 billion.
Dept of Interior
Interior is being targeted for a cut of $2.3 billion, or nearly 13%, and would receive a total of $15.9 billion in FY2027 under this budget.
Please check back here for additional updates.
As part of the Trump administration’s ongoing pledge to dismantle the Education Department, the agency plans to shift the federal government’s student loan portfolio to the Treasury Department.
Moving the nearly $1.7 trillion portfolio out of ED has been a longtime goal for conservatives. In March, President Trump caught many by surprise by announcing the student loan portfolio would transfer to the Small Business Authority, a move which promoted immediate backlash and legal challenges. The Treasury Department has been a more popular choice for others in the administration. Following the announcement on Thursday, Secretary Scott Bessent said, “Treasury has the unique experience, the operational capability and the financial expertise to bring long overdue financial discipline to the program and be better stewards of taxpayer dollars.”
Senior officials at ED did not offer a timeline or estimated cost of this move, but said it would unfold in three stages, beginning with shifting management of student loans for borrowers in default. Those loans add up to $180 billion, roughly 11% of the student loan portfolio. Eventually, the Treasury Department plans to take responsibility for all student loans.
A fact sheet provided by the administration highlighted decades of mismanagement with the student loan portfolio, and promised that with this change, students and families “will continue to receive the high-quality service they have come to expect under the Trump administration.”
But critics feel undertaking a move of this magnitude will be costly and complex, the latest in a string of interagency agreements that aim to gradually dismantle the Education Department. Shutting down the department would require Congressional approval, but the Trump administration has moved to transfer more responsibilities away from ED throughout the last year. In November, the department moved the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Office of Postsecondary Education to the Labor Department.