A report from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Inspector General says Federal Student Aid’s operations were severely disrupted after “DOGE cuts,” with large shares of staff fired or leaving and multiple suboffices left without employees. The article says nearly a quarter of Federal Student Aid’s 136 suboffices had no remaining employees, including functions tied to lending institutions, default rates, school median earnings tracking, and IT support. The report describes borrower-facing issues since the disruption, including incorrect monthly billing amounts and barriers accessing repayment plans. The underlying structural risk is that the office managing the $1.7 trillion portfolio cannot fully operate key risk assessment and servicing workflows when staffing capacity is hollowed out. For higher education financial aid administrators, the story signals continued operational volatility for federal student loan systems—requiring readiness to support students through process errors, repayment confusion, and changes in plan availability.