The U.S. Department of Education advanced a major operational shift that will move substantial parts of student-loan management and related systems away from the agency’s direct control. Reporting says the Department is relocating headquarters—abandoning the Lyndon B. Johnson building and moving to 500 D Street SW—while simultaneously expanding interagency agreements. Under the arrangements described, the Treasury Department will assume operational responsibility for defaulted student loan debt and assist in efforts to return borrowers to repayment. The underlying policy rationale is that ED’s student aid role has become too large for what the agency is structured to administer, especially given the loan portfolio’s scale (about $1.7 trillion) and persistent default rates. Labor groups representing ED staff and critics have said these steps add confusion for institutions and students as federal responsibilities are redistributed.