The Trump administration has signaled it wants to dismantle the Department of Education, returning much of the agency’s power to the states. The idea – expected to be done through Executive Order but facing an uphill battle in Congress – has left many student loan borrowers wondering about how the change could impact their payments and they owe.

The Department of Education oversees federal student loan programs and distributes the financial aid. While details on how student loans would be impacted remain few, President Trump recently spoke on some of the changes he’d like to see.

READ MORE: How would student loans be affected by Department of Education closing?

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office last week, Trump said he had discussed moving administration of the loans to either the Treasury or Commerce department or the Small Business Administration, Newsweek reported.

“I don’t think the education should be handling the loans … I think it’ll be brought into small business, maybe. (New SBA administrator) Kelly (Loeffler) really liked it and really would like to do it,” Trump said.

Among the programs overseen by the Department of Education are:

• Pell Grants
• Public Service Loan Forgiveness, or PSLF
• Income-Driven Repayment Plans, including SAVE and PAYS
• Subsidized student loans
• Federal Graduate and Parent Plus Loans

The Department of Education also oversees the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FASFA, which provides information used in the distribution of more than $120 billion annual in student aid, grants, work-study funds and loans.

According to the Government Accounting Office, the Department of Education holds more than $1.5 trillion in federal loans for nearly 43 million borrowers. About half of the borrowers accounting for some $706 billion in loans were current on their payments and 30%, or $290 billion worth, were past due. The rest – some $254 billion in loans – were not expected to make payments due to deferment or forbearance.

Federal loan payments resumed in October 2023 after a three-year pause during the COVID-19 pandemic.