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A school bell from Milford, Pennsylvania, stands in front of the Department of Education\u2019s headquarters on March 06, 2025 in Washington, DC.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images News | Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
The U.S. Department of Education<\/a> has scaled back its oversight<\/a> of the companies that manage federal student loans, a new congressional watchdog report<\/a> found.<\/p>\n In February 2025, the department stopped \u201cassessing servicers on accuracy and call quality,\u201d according to the report from the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office. That change occurred shortly before the Trump administration terminated<\/a> around 50% of the Education Department\u2019s staff. <\/p>\n Without its evaluation of student loan servicers, the GAO wrote, the Education Department \u201ccan\u2019t be sure that borrower records are correct and servicers are giving borrowers quality information.\u201d The office also said that borrowers could be placed into the wrong repayment status or overbilled as a result. <\/p>\n \u201cInstead of providing relief to 43 million Americans who are drowning in student debt, the Trump Administration has made it harder for them to understand how much they owe and how long it will take to pay back,\u201d said Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., in a statement. Sanders was among the lawmakers who requested the GAO investigation. <\/p>\n The Education Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n