Rich Cordray will step down as the chief operating officer of the U.S. Department of Education’s Federal Student Aid office at the end of June, according to a Friday announcement from the agency.
Cordray has been under mounting pressure to depart as head of the FSA office amid its bumpy rollout of the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA.
The revamped form’s debut has been marred by multiple delays and technical glitches, leading to concerns that fewer students will complete the FAFSA and potentially forgo college altogether. Many colleges have also pushed back their traditional student commitment deadlines of May 1 amid the delays.
Some Republicans criticized Cordray during a hearing earlier this month over the FAFSA rollout. Lawmakers from both major parties panned the revamped form’s debut.
During the hearing, Rep. Glenn Grothman, a Republican from Wisconsin, asked one of the financial aid experts called to testify if anyone at the Education Department should lose their jobs over the rollout.
“If there was a financial aid director or even a college president that delayed financial aid on their campus for up to six months, the professional price that would be paid for that would be pretty steep,” replied Justin Draeger, president and CEO of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators.
During the hearing, Republicans also accused the Education Department of focusing on student loan cancellation to the detriment of the FAFSA rollout. The FSA office oversees the Education Department’s $1.6 trillion student loan portfolio along with its financial aid programs. The Republican-led committee called for Cordray's outster in a social media post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The editorial board of The Wall Street Journal similarly criticized Cordray for the bumpy FAFSA debut and how the department handled the restart of student loan payments after a pandemic-era freeze.
“He has yet to apologize for any of this,” the board wrote. “If Mr. Cordray were a CEO, he’d have been sacked long ago, but in government no one is ever held accountable.”
U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona sang a different tune in a Friday statement, praising Cordray for his work.
Cardona called out Cordray’s efforts to identify borrowers eligible for student debt relief and implement the department’s new income-driven repayment plan. He also pointed to Cordray’s revitalization of FSA’s enforcement unit, which investigates colleges for potential federal financial aid violations.
“It’s no exaggeration to say that Rich helped change millions of lives for the better,” Cardona said.
Cordray stepped into the role in 2021. Previously, Cordray worked as the first director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and as the attorney general of Ohio.
