In response to the Trump administration killing investigations into possibly fraudulent activities at for-profit colleges where top hires of Betsy DeVos previously worked, DNC spokesperson Daniel Wessel released the following statement:

“The Trump administration continues to put for-profit colleges ahead of America’s students. Instead of protecting students, Trump and Betsy DeVos have effectively killed investigations into fraudulent practices at for-profit colleges where DeVos’ top hires previously worked. As if hurting students weren’t enough, this decision illuminates the depths of Trump’s swamp and how his administration makes policy decisions that benefit themselves, not the American people.”

DeVos’s Education Department effectively killed investigations into alleged abuses by for-profit colleges where her top aides had previously worked.

New York Times: “Members of a special team at the Education Department that had been investigating widespread abuses by for-profit colleges have been marginalized, reassigned or instructed to focus on other matters, according to current and former employees. The unwinding of the team has effectively killed investigations into possibly fraudulent activities at several large for-profit colleges where top hires of Betsy DeVos, the education secretary, had previously worked.”

The Trump administration sought to roll back protections for students at online and for-profit colleges.

Wall Street Journal: “The department plans as early as this month to rewrite both of those rules, which set earnings standards for for-profit schools’ graduates and create a process for students failed by those schools to have their debt forgiven by the government. The Education Department’s latest filing suggests it is looking to ease requirements on online and for-profit programs in particular, such as a mandate that online courses include a certain amount of interaction between students and instructors.”

Wall Street Journal: “Some higher-education experts and consumer advocates warn that this would remove guardrails protecting the quality of college degrees, potentially hurting students enrolled in such programs and taxpayers who help fund grants and loans to the schools.”

Mulvaney’s CFPB closed the student lending office focused on investigating abuses by loan companies and fraudulent for-profit colleges.

Associated Press: “The Trump administration signaled Wednesday that it intends to pull back on investigating potential abuses by companies in the $1.5-trillion student loan market. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will shut its student lending office, according to a bureau-wide memo written by its acting director, Mick Mulvaney.”