Education Department ends taxpayer-funded student jobs linked to Democratic election efforts

On August 19, the Trump administration “put an end to a Biden-era directive allowing taxpayer-funded work-study jobs to include get-out-the-vote positions after The College Fix found that some were linked to Democrat election efforts.”

“Federal Work Study is meant to provide students opportunities to gain real-world experience that prepares them to succeed in the workforce, not as a way to fund political activism on our college and university campuses,” explained Under Secretary of Education Nicholas Kent.

The College Fix reports that

The Education Department cited legal concerns raised by 16 Republican attorneys general who argued the Biden administration’s guidance violated federal law…The attorneys general predicted in an April 2024 letter that the change would lead to partisan vote harvesting for Democrats.

The College Fix later found evidence of this at Penn State University, the University of Washington, and Pacific University in Oregon.