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The U.S. Department of Education’s inspector general has cleared Robert Eitel, a senior aide to Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, of violating ethics laws, according to Politico.
Democratic senator Elizabeth Warren had raised questions about Eitel, who had been a compliance officer at for-profit college operator Bridgepoint Education Inc. While serving at the department, he has been recused from discussions of the gainful-employment rule, which penalizes primarily for-profit institutions if graduates do not earn enough to pay back student loans.
Eitel, though, had not been recused from the department’s deliberations over another issue affecting for-profits, the borrower-defense rule. DeVos has changed the rule, making it more difficult for students who have been misled by institutions to have their student loans forgiven.
According to documents Politico obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, the inspector general concluded that Eitel did not appear to be in violation of federal ethics laws.
