The Dept of Education has become the 'epitome of grift,' ex-Trump 2024 official says
Panelists Jayme Leagh Franklin and Caroline Sunshine discuss the Trump administration's plans to dismantle the Department of Education and the meeting between President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman on 'Fox News @ Night.'
The Department of Education announced Thursday that it has saved American taxpayers more than $1 billion by aggressively eliminating fraud, waste, and abuse within federal student aid programs.
The department’s new report takes aim at previous policies, claiming that while citizens must present identification to board a flight or rent a car, the Biden administration had required identity verification for less than 1% of students applying for federal financial aid.
"That ill-informed decision created a prime opportunity for fraudsters to exploit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) form and steal taxpayer funds," the department stated in a press release. "These lax standards allowed bad actors to divert aid intended for low- and middle-income students."
VANCE ANTI-FRAUD TASK FORCE SUSPENDS 221 CALIFORNIA HOSPICE AND HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS SO FAR
A Department of Education (ED) official told Fox News Digital that staff are working to put themselves out of a job because the agency is not needed. (Getty Images)
The $1 billion in savings follows a massive overhaul of the system in 2025, which included the implementation of mandatory identity verification for all first-time federal student aid applicants.
According to the department, colleges and universities across the country reported being "under siege" by highly sophisticated fraud rings, prompting requests for the Trump administration to intervene.
The Department of Education prevented more than $1 billion in student aid fraud in 2025, including implementing identity verification for first-time federal student aid applicants. (Getty Images/Stock )
MILLER PLEDGES NEW VANCE FRAUD TASK FORCE WILL 'DEMOLISH' SOCIAL SERVICES CORRUPTION
The new "enhanced fraud controls" are specifically designed to block AI-generated bots and "ghost students"—fraudulent identities used to siphon taxpayer-funded loans. To ensure applicants are real people, Education Secretary Linda McMahon ordered a comprehensive review of all student aid programs and strengthened real-time data-sharing with the Social Security Administration. This data-sharing initiative alone is credited with saving taxpayers $30 million by preventing identity theft.
Further tightening the safeguards, the Department of Education partnered with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to ensure federal student aid funds are not diverted to illegal aliens.
In addition to these security measures, the department is launching an offensive against digital scams. It has published online resources warning families about "fake college websites" that use AI-generated content to lure students into predatory schemes.
Secretary Linda McMahon ordered the department to review student aid programs. (Getty Images)
To maintain these gains, the department is currently hiring a specialized "fraud detection team" within the Federal Student Aid (FSA) office. This team will be tasked exclusively with monitoring, detecting, and combating ongoing attempts to exploit the federal loan system.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Fox News' Emma Colton contributed to this report.
