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—despite pledges to dismantle the program. An internal presentation obtained by POLITICO reveals a sharp contrast between rhetoric and action, as the agency ramps up hiring amid broader efforts to reshape student loan policies. Critics question whether the move signals a strategic shift or simply a temporary workaround in the push to overhaul higher education financing. The development underscores the ongoing tension between administrative priorities and long-standing plans to restructure federal aid programs.

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 ...