President Trump's executive order last week to close the Department of Education is raising big questions for student loan borrowers.

Why it matters: The department plays a key role in managing $1.5 trillion in student debt for more than 40 million borrowers, including 1.8 million Pennsylvanians.

• A vast majority of its budget is allocated to the office that oversees student loans.

Reality check: The directive will likely face legal opposition because eliminating a federal department requires an act of Congress.

• However, the administration can cut key funding in the meantime.

State of play: Trump is delegating student loan operations to the Small Business Administration.

• The Department of Health and Human Services will oversee special needs and nutrition programs.

Zoom in: During the transition to SBA, there could be slower processing times for loans, applications and payments, and the potential for more administrative errors.

• While it's possible there could be a pause in borrowers' payments for a period, they'd still eventually be due.

What they're saying: Betsy Mayotte, president of The Institute of Student Loan Advisors, told Axios before Trump's order that the transition period might not affect borrowers too much.

• "I wouldn't be surprised even if they kept the same servicers that they have contracts with already to manage the loan," Mayotte said.

By the numbers: Borrowers in the Commonwealth collectively owed $66.5 billion in federal student loan debt as of last year, according to federal data.

• The average debt was nearly $35,700, per an analysis from the Education Data Initiative.
• Pennsylvanians aged 25 to 34 owed the most ($23.1 billion in total).

Between the lines: Pell grants, subsidized loans and work-study grants are mostly congressionally appropriated. It would take an act of Congress to get rid of them.

• So if the Education Department shutters, these too would need to be managed by a different agency but wouldn't necessarily go away.

"It's possible some borrowers would simply decide they can't afford college or don't want to deal with borrowing," NerdWallet's lending expert Kate Wood told Axios before the executive order was issued.

The bottom line: There's a lot of uncertainty right now.

• "If you're a current federal borrower and you're concerned, the best proactive step is to save your information," Wood advised.
• Go to studentaid.gov and screenshot or download your repayment history, she added.

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The Philadelphia Inquirer is eliminating a news desk focused on covering the city's marginalized communities in its latest round of layoffs, a reporter and a union official tell Axios.

The big picture: The union says the newspaper's decision to nix the Communities and Engagement Desk reflects a rollback of its commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies.

Driving the news: Inquirer publisher and CEO Lisa Hughes told staff in a Friday email obtained by Axios that the company in January identified 10 jobs to be eliminated, including eight in the newsroom.

• The newspaper worked with its union, the NewsGuild, to offer buyout packages, Hughes wrote, and parted ways with "separation packages" more generous than what the contract calls for.
• Hughes said the publication, owned by the nonprofit Lenfest Institute for Journalism, is in "a constant race to drive our digital business as legacy print and advertising revenue continues its industry-wide decline."
• "This dynamic requires us to invest in critical areas of growth, which we have successfully done and will continue to do. Conversely, it also requires us to assess all aspects of our business and to find savings in select areas."

Hughes' email didn't address the Communities and Engagement Desk.

• The Inquirer didn't immediately return Axios' request for comment.

Context: The communities desk covered stories to address the "longtime neglect and misrepresentation of marginalized communities," per its mission statement.

• It was among a slate of DEI initiatives the Inquirer created in 2020 following an outcry over a headline that the paper subsequently called "racist."
• The newspaper apologized for the "unacceptable" misstep and pledged to ramp up its efforts to improve coverage of underserved communities.

Zoom in: Half of the eight newsroom staff offered buyouts are people of color, Diane Mastrull — an Inquirer breaking news editor and president of the NewsGuild of Greater Philadelphia — wrote in a memo earlier this week to members, expressing a "loss of confidence" in newspaper leadership.

• Mastrull said the affected employees were told there was a "nearly 100% guarantee" they'd be laid off if they didn't accept the deals.
• Inquirer staff writer Amy S. Rosenberg put pressure on leaders to explain the decision in a post on X : "Explain why Lenfest-owned Philly Inquirer just eliminated its entire communities desk and sought the departures of five journalists of color."

What we're watching

📺 "Abbott Elementary" creator Quinta Brunson will guest star in the final season of Netflix's animated comedy "Big Mouth." Brunson first made a cameo on the show in 2019. (Philly Voice)

📱 Only 18 Pennsylvania school districts requested a slice of $100 million in state grant funding to purchase locked phone pouches.

• One Philly school official said the devices are still "somewhat controversial." (Inquirer)

🌉 Five Philly-area bridges, including the Walt Whitman and Benjamin Franklin, should be evaluated for collapse risk, federal officials say.

• The NTSB says dozens of U.S. bridges should be assessed to see if they can withstand being struck by a vessel following last year's collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore. (CBS News)

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It wasn't all hugs for President Trump at this weekend's NCAA wrestling championships in South Philly.

• More than 300 demonstrators showed up outside the Wells Fargo Center to protest Trump's appearance at the event.