Education Department launches hiring spree in key office, roughly a year after mass layoffs

The Trump administration is aggressively expanding staffing at the Federal Student Aid office—a division it has repeatedly targeted for elimination—contradicting its long-standing push to dismantle the program. An internal presentation obtained by POLITICO reveals a sharp hiring surge despite the agency’s controversial status in the administration’s broader education reform agenda. The move underscores a disconnect between rhetoric and operational priorities, raising questions about the department’s true intentions. Critics and advocates alike are likely to scrutinize whether these hires signal a shift in policy or simply a temporary workaround.

The Trump administration has launched a hiring blitz at the agency it vowed to eliminate, according to an internal presentation reviewed by POLITICO. The Education Department’s Federal Student Aid ...