An hours-long outage on StudentAid.gov, the federal website for student loans and financial aid, has underscored the risks in rapidly gutting the Department of Education.

President Donald Trump’s push to hollow out the Education Department this week sparked fresh angst among student borrowers, raising concern about what happens to them and the more than one trillion dollars in debt they have to collectively repay.

The Trump administration has taken its latest step toward dismantling the Department of Education — and despite assurances that the agency will “continue to deliver” on programs it’s legally responsible for, like student loans, experts warn it’s likely borrowers will feel significant disruptions .