Trump administration transferring student loan, nutrition programs out of Education Dept

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday his administration will transfer responsibility for the federal government's student loans, nutrition and special needs programs from the Department of Education to other departments.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said the student loan portfolio will be handled by the Small Business Administration.

"We have a portfolio that's very large, lots of loans, tens of thousands of loans," Trump said. "That's coming out of the Department of Education immediately, and it's going to be headed up by (SBA Administrator) Kelly Loeffler."

The Health and Human Services Department will administer special needs and nutrition programs, Trump said.

"Those two elements will be taken out of the Department of Education, and then all we have to do is get the students to get guidance from the people that love them and cherish them, including their parents ... along with the boards and the governors and the states," Trump said.

Trump fulfilled a longstanding promise to conservatives on Thursday by signing an executive order intended to dismantle the Education Department and leave school policy almost entirely with the states and local boards.

Last week, the Education Department said it would lay off nearly half of its staff, in step with Trump's sweeping efforts to reduce the size of a federal government he considers to be bloated and inefficient.

(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; Writing by Ryan Patrick Jones, Editing by William Maclean)