Department of Education

The Department of Education manages the federal student loan portfolio — the largest consumer lending program in the country at over $1.6 trillion — along with Pell Grants that help 7 million low-income students afford college. On the K-12 side, it distributes Title I funding to schools serving disadvantaged students and IDEA grants for special education. While education policy is primarily a state and local responsibility (the federal government provides roughly 8% of K-12 funding nationwide), federal dollars play an outsized role in higher education access and equity programs.