President Trump’s executive order to begin closing the U.S. Department of Education has many in that field worried about the end result. Wesley Whistle grew up in Owensboro and worked in the department’s office overseeing higher education policy in the Biden Administration for 19 months. Asked if the department’s duties can be carried out by far fewer people, he said no.
“Last week, he fired half the staff at the department, and we're already seeing issues like, FAFSA went down, I think, the next day, which, you know, that happens, but there was no one there to fix it. They had to hire some people back to fix it, because you can't operate the department without these key functions.”
Whistle said the education department also oversees programs protecting children with disabilities and provides Title One funding to low-income schools. He said claims that the department’s duties can be performed fewer federal employees may sound logical, but aren’t and sets the stage for less oversight and more fraud.
“You could see a boon of the for-profit college industry with no oversight ending up recruiting students and offering them, you know, worthless degrees if they are able to even finish it. And you know, stuck with lots of debt and nothing to show for it.”
President Trump’s press secretary has said the department will continue administering Pell grants, student loans and other programs. In two months, the administration has fired about half of all education department employees.
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