Last Email From A Worker at the US Department of Education

This graphic is part of an email from a US Department of Education official who was recently fired without good cause.  Our experiences with this dedicated public servant were always excellent, something we cannot say about others in the DC crowd. The graphic displays a number of important measures that have been enacted by ED-FSA (Federal Student Aid) over the last six years--and one giant failure, general debt relief for more than 30 million citizens. We wish the best for those Department of Education workers who remain, and who may see their jobs made more difficult, privatized, or moved to other agencies. The work cannot be easy for anyone--especially those who care about the folks they serve--the consumers and their families who are less likely to receive justice in the coming months and years. 

Related link:

Department of Education workers brace for Trump to shut agency down: ‘Everybody is distraught’ (UK Guardian)

Department of Education contract cuts spur ‘chaos and confusion’ (The Hill)

The Department of Education’s History Shows It is Essential (Time)

"DOGE Eat DOGE" World

Every day brings revelations about how corrupt the US government is. Every day the Department of Government Efficiency ( DOGE) reports on one agency or another that they have taken over and plan to eliminate or downsize. The first targets were the USAID and the US Department of Education. 

But this is just the beginning. 

Every day is a spectacle, with Elon Musk and a  handful of young men taking temporary control over federal agencies without Congressional approval. Some call it a coup, though President Trump has granted them the power through executive privilege. Others may call it a mission from God. 

There is no telling how far this DOGE takeover will continue, but as long as folks are not protesting, we can expect it to last indefinitely.  President Trump has recently mentioned corruption in the Department of Defense, which would be an interesting target to investigate. 

In the meantime, President Trump has relaxed enforcement of US law banning bribery of foreign officials.

You can watch the DOGE boys in action through the DOGE tracker.  You can also follow crypto trading and prices, which appear to be a key part of the DOGE movement. 

'Soon We're Going Into Education': Trump Previews Elon Musk's Next DOGE Targets (Forbes Breaking News)

The Higher Education Inquirer continues to document the DOGE takeover of the US Department of Education. 

While some Democratic officials in Congress have protested this action by DOGE, there has been little resistance otherwise. 

DOGE consists of Elon Musk and several young men who have been tasked to reduce the federal budget by at least $1 Trillion. The US Senate has oversight of the Department of Education through the HELP (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions) Committee, but Republicans, who are led by President Trump, control the Senate, and appear to be supporting these aggressive measures. 

While Mr. Musk has claimed that the Department of Education no longer exists, its website is still operating. 

DOGE also promotes the buying and selling of cryptocurrency.  

What now for the US Department of Education?

What happens now with the US Department of Education now that Elon Musk claims that it no longer exists? It's hard to know yet, and even more difficult after removing career government workers that we have known for years.  

We are saddened to hear of contacts we know who have been fired: hard working and capable people, in an agency that has been chronically understaffed and politicized. 

We also worry for the hundreds of thousands of student loan debtors who have borrower defense to repayment claims against schools that systematically defrauded them--and have not yet received justice. 

And what about all those FAFSA (financial aid) forms for students starting and continuing their schooling? How will they be processed in a timely manner?

Without funding and oversight, the Department of Education looks nearly dead. But with millions of poor and disabled children relying on Title I funding and IDEA and tens of millions more with federal student student loans, it's hard to imagine those functions disappearing for good.  

Let's see how much slack is taken up by private enterprise and religious nonprofits who may benefit from the pain. With student loans, much of the work has already been contracted out. It would not be out of the question for the student loan portfolio to be sold off to corporations who could profit from it. And that may or may not require Congressional approval.  

Elon Musk says US Department of Education no longer ‘exists’ (MSNBC)

Higher Education Inquirer Investigating White House, DOGE Communications

 

 

The Higher Education Inquirer (HEI) is investigating email communications between the White House and DOGE regarding the US Department of Education Federal Student Aid (FSA).  HEI has been using FOIA responses for a number of years to expose corruption in the US higher education business. The White House has 20 days to acknowledge receipt. We will let you know if and when we get any responses from the White House.  

Rep. Scholten, Oversight Dems Introduce Bill to Hold Musk, DOGE Accountable to the American Taxpayer

(Press Release)

Today, U.S. Congresswoman Hillary Scholten (MI03) introduced the Consistent Legal Expectations and Access to Records (CLEAR) Act, which clarifies that temporary organizations created under 5 USC 3161, like DOGE, are subject to FOIA. Given the breadth of power these organizations wield, they should be subject to the same standard of scrutiny and public information sharing that other agencies are beholden to. 

As it currently stands, DOGE does not need to comply with FOIA requests from the American public. Scholten is joined by House Committee on Oversight and Reform Ranking Member Gerry Connolly (VA11), Dave Min (CA47), and Kweisi Mfume (MD07) as co-leads on her legislation.

“In the first two weeks of Trump’s second term, chaos has reigned and has many asking… what is happening? An unelected businessman with numerous conflicts of interest has been given unprecedented access to government data and Americans' personal information. These are taxpayer dollars he’s controlling, and the American people deserve to know what’s happening. Knowledge is power, and in America, that power belongs to the people. My bill will make sure that no president, Republican or Democrat, can hide their actions from the American people,” said Rep. Scholten.

President Trump created DOGE through an executive order using an authority that allows the president to set up "temporary organizations." Congresswoman Scholten introduced this legislation to make it clear that any organization created this way is automatically subject to FOIA. The bill would apply retroactively, meaning all of DOGE’s records since it was formed would become public if the legislation is signed into law.

[Editor's note: The Higher Education Inquirer has requested digital copies of all emails between the White House and DOGE sent or received on February 5, 2025.] 

The Business Plots, Then and Now

In 1933, a group of American businessman planned a coup to take down the new President, Franklin Roosevelt. In this scheme, General Smedley Butler would be tasked with orchestrating the overthrow. This attempted coup was called the Business Plot.  

College students today may ask, so what's so important about this moment in history?  The point is that we have entered an era again where big business has a dominating influence over American politics. In the case of the 1933 moment, the coup was reactive. American business had failed, a Great Depression was in progress, and businessmen were fighting to maintain control, a control that they were used to having under Harding, Coolidge, and Hoover. The man tasked to lead the plot, General Butler, squashed it before it happened. And the story largely faded away. 

Eight years later, in 1941, the US would be fighting a world war against global fascism and imperialism.  In the aftermath of the war, a stronger nation would arise. Today, we are also a nation facing intense competition and conflict, this time against China, Russia, India and other nations, with global climate change being a factor that wasn't apparent back then. 

In 2024, US business people, some of the richest people in the world, did something similar, but more proactive and less controversial. Today, folks, in general are OK with American businessmen pulling the strings. The most wealthy man have succeeded where big banks and big business failed before. And they have elected a friend. Today, cryptocurrency is booming. The stock market is booming for now. Unemployment is at record lows--for now. Big business has managed to gain greater control of the US government with little or no uproar.