President Donald Trump announced Friday that two major functions of the Department of Education will be transferred to other federal agencies, as part of his broader effort to dismantle the department—a longtime goal of conservative policymakers.

Under the new plan, the Small Business Administration (SBA) will assume control of the federal student loan portfolio, while the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will take over programs related to special needs education and school nutrition.

Trump said the SBA, under the leadership of Kelly Loeffler, would be tasked with managing the student loan program.

“We have a portfolio that’s very large, tens of thousands of loans—pretty complicated deal,” Trump said during the announcement. “That’s coming out of the Department of Education immediately. I believe it will be serviced much better.”

In reality, the Federal Student Aid (FSA) office currently manages a $1.6 trillion loan portfolio serving over 43 million Americans, far exceeding Trump’s reference to “tens of thousands” of loans.

The SBA, which primarily issues loans to small businesses, has faced its own restructuring and staffing reductions under Trump. The agency announced plans to cut its workforce by approximately 2,700 positions—a 43% reduction—through resignations and term expirations.

It remains unclear how the SBA would absorb the FSA’s complex loan servicing system, or whether over 1,000 FSA employees would transfer to the new agency.

Trump also said that Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Health and Human Services Department would oversee all special education and school nutrition programs, calling the effort “rather complex.”

“Those two elements will be taken out of the Department of Education,” he said, “and then all we have to do is get the students to get guidance from the people that love them and cherish them.”

While Trump reaffirmed that some “core necessities” of the Education Department would remain intact, Friday’s announcement marks the most aggressive step yet in his plan to dismantle the department.

The full elimination of the Department of Education would require congressional approval, but Trump’s executive actions signal a significant restructuring of federal education oversight, shifting key responsibilities to agencies with little prior experience in those domains.

Critics warn the move could lead to confusion and undermine support for vulnerable student populations, particularly low-income borrowers and students with disabilities.

Further details on the transition timeline and staffing implications have not yet been released by the White House.