WASHINGTON – On a brisk Tuesday afternoon in the capital, leftover snacks and pastries remained untouched in a government office. The faint hum of several dozen discussions filled the air outside a small auditorium named after Lyndon Baines Johnson, the 36th president known for transforming American college funding.

High-ranking officials from the U.S. Department of Education had just finished an emotional farewell celebration marking their tenure. As school leaders and agency staff moved through security to attend a series of goodbye speeches, they passed by the official portraits of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, likely for the last time.

Outside, traffic was slowed by road barriers. Nearby, preparations were in full swing for Donald Trump’s upcoming inauguration.

Back in the building, Miguel Cardona was busy on his phone. The education secretary – who led an unprecedented era for American students that began with the pandemic and ended in a crisis of financial aid – appeared cheerful yet resolute. Sitting back in a conference room chair, he seemed exhausted from the farewell speech he had just delivered.

His address to the attendees was somewhat paradoxical; it was a call for optimism amidst troubling predictions about a potential second term for Trump. Cardona subtly critiqued his likely successor, Linda McMahon, a wealthy supporter of Trump who is expected to face an easy confirmation in the GOP-controlled Senate.

Reflecting on his own background as a former fourth-grade teacher, he reminded the audience of the importance of President Biden’s decision to appoint an educator to lead the Department of Education during a time of crisis instead of choosing a wealthy donor.

Under Cardona’s guidance, the federal Education Department achieved significant milestones that pleased supporters but exasperated critics.

The department allocated $130 billion to K-12 schools following Congress’s passage of the American Rescue Plan. It resolved the largest number of civil rights cases in its history. It approved nearly $200 billion worth of student loan forgiveness for 5.3 million Americans—a move that Republicans, including North Carolina congresswoman Virginia Foxx, criticized as a “free college scheme.” Additionally, it revamped the federal student aid application and established regulations that, if upheld, could make colleges more accountable in the years ahead.

However, significant challenges also emerged.

Biden’s intentions for widespread debt cancellation only benefited a small fraction of the many student loan borrowers he aimed to assist. Attempts to amend the interpretation of a key sex discrimination law were ultimately overturned. The department left numerous policy initiatives unresolved. Furthermore, a financial aid crisis, which took many painful months to address, diminished trust in the department at a time when it was in dire need of credibility.

As Cardona prepares to exit, the future of the agency he has led faces more political peril than it has in the last fifty years. President-elect Donald Trump has persistently pledged to “shut down” the department. Although doing so would require legislative action, Republicans command both houses of Congress.

Trump’s contentious promise has sparked mixed reactions. Recent polls indicate that most voters oppose abolishing the department. Moreover, enacting such a radical measure would be challenging, given the GOP’s slender margins in Congress. Whether or not Trump acts on that promise, his representatives have suggested that the Education Department may still become a target of his administration’s new “Department of Government Efficiency.”

YSL News interviewed Cardona a week before he was scheduled to leave. Here are excerpts from that discussion, edited for brevity and clarity.

YSL News: There’s a poignant irony in Jimmy Carter’s passing. We covered how he essentially founded the modern Education Department.

Cardona: Indeed. His character and belief led him. He had faith in the public good of education and established the department. Another individual aims to dismantle it.

How does that concern you as a former teacher, school administrator, and now as the secretary?

I feel anxious for the most at-risk students—those in rural areas depending on public education, students with disabilities relying on our protections. My worries are focused on these vulnerable groups.

As an educator and a father, I have faith in schools and teachers. I was a fourth-grade teacher, a school principal, and a district leader. Our commitment to fight for students and support them will persist.

Ideally, at the federal level, we would receive respect and appropriate funding. However, we are committed to safeguarding our students. We chose this path out of care for children, and that commitment won’t waver in the next four years. It will take collective action.

Some bipartisan legislation has made progress in Congress. Does this provide you any hope for future bipartisan achievements?

We found common ground on many issues in the last four years that didn’t get the attention they deserved from my colleagues across the aisle.

I often discussed with Congresswoman Foxx over coffee in her office the vital nature of alternative pathways. I’m a tech school graduate who spent four years fixing cars. She understands the importance of that in her constituency. We recognized the need to embrace more than just a four-year college mindset and ensure high schools gear students towards vocational careers.

Nevertheless, she consistently voted against the initiatives I championed in that area.

You recently noted that much of the opposition to the department stems from a misunderstanding of the federal government’s role. How can that be effectively addressed?

This misunderstanding is widespread among the public and is also fueled by those intent on harming public education. I believe my colleagues on Capitol Hill recognize that our involvement is minimal. We only contribute 9% of educational funding; the bulk comes from state and local sources.

In my previous roles—as an education commissioner, a district leader, a principal, and a teacher—I had a far greater influence on curriculum than I do as secretary.

Under Secretary James Kvaal recently wrote an article in Inside Higher Ed discussing the issues with the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, noting many of the problems were linked to contractor relationships and federal contracting processes. What can the next administration or Congress do to remedy this?

We have already addressed these issues ourselves. We resolved them in-house.

There was a challenging six-month period that received a lot of media attention.

What often goes unnoticed is that during that same year, 500,000 additional students gained access to federal support compared to the previous year. Enrollment increased by 5%.

Ultimately, it was worthwhile because we accomplished our goals.

Zachary Schermele is an education reporter. You can follow him on X at @ZachSchermele.