A pro student loans industry person, pro private schools person.

And you will get some social engineering shit that will add goofy rules to federal funding that most blue states will go through the motions on so long as the funding keeps coming.

You ask a great question; I wonder the same. The answer is elusive because such "vandalism" of a government function so integral to our national life is unprecedented.

All I can offer is speculation.

So far as higher education, I suspect the loan program will persist, although expect a return to privatization. Public universities will fall more exclusively under the control of state boards, and federal oversight relative to laws ensuring equal access, quality, etc. will evaporate. Academic freedom and the free pursuit of knowledge will be threatened; morale will plummet; public funding for research will diminish. We will enter a period tantamount to the "dark ages" insofar as intellectual advancement and academic progress.

Incidentally, the societal perception of the value of higher education or the respect for those who possess it is at rock bottom. Teachers are no longer respected; instead, they are disparaged, falsely accused, and attacked in the public square of opinion. Facts are rejected. Science and scientists are derided. "Alternative fact" and conspiracies now pass for truth among the masses affected by misleading but viral memes on social media.

I suspect the most blunt impact will be the K-12 system. Radical decentralization will result in a crazy quilt of individual state initiatives--some good, but most ideologically-driven. Whether states will receive block grant funding remains to be seen. Programs to support the special needs of diverse students with various needs will be considered "woke," then gutted, and funding drawn down. The vital resources and support services so many rely on will be unavailable. There will be no federal oversight of the states to ensure a modicum of equal access, or even minimal academic standards, and statistics useful for comparison will not be compiled. Curriculum may well become religion-based in many places. Teachers will be demoralized, a mass exodus from a profession once respected and proud will ensue. The public school system which once promised to forge a national identity will be in tatters. Private, for-profit schools and home schooling will fill the vacuum.

In sum, the dismemberment of the DOE will hasten the disintegration of the nation. The national motto E Pluribus Unum no longer holds.

And people call me paranoid... But i really feel like my entire concept of where I was headed is wiped out.
Especially since I m studying Anthropology and wanting to work in NAGPRA or directly with tribes and research...

So much for academics. What also sucks is that my most recent work history is with grade school (boys and girls club, etc) and my body cant do it anymore.

I guess its gonna be looking at contingency plans. I will probably end up dropping my classes for next semester 😞 what's the point?

I hate it. I fucking love school and everything about it... It's really soul crushing 😭

Particularly in red states. Perfect way to extend the tentacles.

Getting rid of a cabinet department does not necessarily mean getting rid of everything that it does.