The Fired Student-Debt Relievers at the Department of Education

Like many employees of Ed and the F.S.A., Gittleman had her critiques of the system. “A society should not be forcing people into an untenable financial situation in order to get ahead,” she said. The Ombudsman Group was necessary because loan servicers, and Ed itself, got things wrong, and because for-profit institutions sometimes misled their … Read more

Trump’s Vivisection of the Department of Education

Earlier this month, the Trump Administration announced that it was laying off thirteen hundred employees of the U.S. Department of Education, in addition to the hundreds of workers who had already either lost their jobs or accepted buyout offers. Three areas of the D.O.E. in particular were disproportionately affected by the cuts: student aid, civil-rights … Read more

Donald Trump, Producer-in-Chief

On Monday, Donald Trump attended his first board meeting at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts since installing himself as its chairman and firing its leadership. During the session, he surveyed board members about which musical was better—“Les Misérables” or “The Phantom of the Opera”—and reminisced at length about seeing the 1982 Broadway première … Read more

What the Assault on Public Education Means for Kids with Disabilities

President Donald Trump, winner of the Battle of the Billionaires at WrestleMania 23, has maintained close ties with Linda McMahon, the former C.E.O. of World Wrestling Entertainment, for decades. During the President’s first term, she served for two years as head of the Small Business Administration, stepping down in 2019 to lead America First Action, … Read more