The Education Department is transferring day-to-day operations for dozens of congressionally mandated programs to other federal agencies, reshaping who administers higher ed-related policy functions and how program staff operate. The shift is accompanied by signs that Trump-appointed Cabinet secretaries are moving more visibly into education policy implementation. In a recent video, Education Secretary Linda McMahon and Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer described agency coordination as if operations have already “merged,” indicating the government is changing both process and communication lines. The new responsibilities are distributed across multiple departments, including Labor, Interior, State, Health and Human Services, and Treasury. For colleges and universities, the operational handoffs can affect timelines, eligibility processing, technical assistance, and compliance expectations for federal programs that touch student aid, workforce development, and related education initiatives.