Democratic lawmakers are preparing a new era of student-loan oversight after winning control of both chambers of Congress in the midterm elections. The party has signaled that scrutiny of the Trump administration’s education agenda, including its management of the federal student-loan system, will be a leading priority when the next Congress convenes.
At the top of the list is the administration’s push to dismantle the Department of Education, alongside its sweeping changes to how borrowers repay their loans. Those changes took effect in July and have since generated widespread reports of confusion, inaccurate billing, and delayed debt relief.
Hearings and Subpoenas on the Table
Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey said before the election that hearings would begin and that Education Secretary Linda McMahon would be called to testify under oath about the department’s operations. Markey argued that the department’s current direction is harming millions of borrowers and said the administration should prepare for questions.
Aaron Ament, president of the borrower advocacy and legal group Student Defense, told Business Insider that Democratic lawmakers have a broad opening to examine the administration’s handling of federal student loans. He pointed to the transfer of millions of borrowers into new repayment plans with higher monthly bills, the restart of involuntary collections on defaulted loans, and reduced oversight of student-loan servicers as areas ripe for investigation.
According to Ament, the oversight effort will likely begin with hearings. Lawmakers can also subpoena Education Department documents related to its student-loan administration and can turn to the Office of the Inspector General and the Government Accountability Office to investigate specific problems. The GAO previously revealed that the department had stopped monitoring servicers for call quality and accuracy.
A Roadmap for Investigation
Student Defense has released what it calls an oversight curriculum, outlining higher education issues that Democratic lawmakers should address. The document covers oversight of predatory colleges, mismanagement of loan forgiveness programs, and failures in transferring borrowers to new repayment plans. It also lists documents lawmakers should request, including servicer performance reports and staffing rosters for Federal Student Aid.
Frederick Hess, director of education policy studies at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, wrote last month that education oversight should be expected “with a vengeance.” He predicted that Democratic lawmakers would examine education cuts and the effort to dismantle the Education Department, among other targets. Hess also noted that responding to oversight requests would become a significant drain on time and attention for the executive branch.
Borrower Protections at the Center
Even while in the minority over the past two years, Democrats continued to press for student-loan oversight. More than 30 lawmakers recently urged the Education Department to address what they described as severe problems with repayment and stalled debt relief. Republican lawmakers have generally supported the administration’s repayment overhaul, though some have pushed for relief on interest rates. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna called for capping rates at 2%, an idea President Donald Trump said he “might” support.
Ament said some repayment errors could be addressed fairly quickly, but other matters, such as ensuring proper oversight of predatory schools, may take longer. Democrats have said they intend to strengthen borrower protections and push back on the administration’s student-loan changes.
Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, who is seeking to lead the House education committee, wrote to colleagues that Congress must lower the cost of a college degree and provide relief to those with student-loan debt. That relief, she said, would include loan forgiveness for students who were preyed upon by for-profit institutions.
An Education Department spokesperson defended the administration’s record, telling Business Insider that it has opened new, affordable higher education pathways for millions of American students and demonstrated that department functions can be delivered by other federal agency experts while more decision-making authority is returned to parents, states, and local communities.