President Donald Trump’s Department of Education is assuring student-loan borrowers that changes to a key forgiveness program aren’t here — yet.
After Trump signed an executive order on Friday aimed at the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, the Federal Student Aid office posted on X that borrowers enrolled in the program won’t be facing any changes at this point.
“The U.S. Department of Education is reviewing the recent executive order regarding the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program,” FSA wrote. “The PSLF Program is not changing today, and borrowers do not need to take any action.”
Trump’s executive order said that organizations engaging in “activities that advance illegal immigration, terrorism, child abuse, discrimination, and public disruptions” would not be eligible for the program.
While it’s unclear which specific organizations Trump is seeking to target that do not align with his administration’s political views, the executive order directed the education and treasury secretaries to redefine what constitutes “public service” and ensure that participating PSLF employers align with the administration.
PSLF was created in 2007 to forgive student debt for government and nonprofit workers, like teachers and police officers, after 10 years of qualifying payments. Trump cannot make major changes to the program without Congress’s approval. Some borrower advocates said that any attempt to change the program solely by executive order would result in legal challenges.
“Threatening to punish hardworking Americans for their employers’ perceived political views is about as flagrant a violation of the First Amendment as you can imagine,” Aaron Ament, the president of the borrower protection group Student Defense, said. “If the Trump Administration follows through on this threat, they can plan to see us in court.”
Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, similarly said in a statement that the federation “won’t stop fighting, in court and in Congress, until every single public service worker gets the help the law affords them.”
Education Secretary Linda McMahon said during her confirmation hearing that she would honor PSLF and that “if we want stronger or more programs for loan forgiveness, then I think Congress should pass those programs, and then we would implement it.”
This is Trump’s latest blow to federal workers. Over the past weeks, his administration has worked with Elon Musk and the White House’s DOGE office, aimed at reducing government waste, to slash the federal workforce. The administration has fired thousands of federal workers across agencies and cut billions of dollars in federal programs, including the Department of Education’s research arm.
Some Republican lawmakers lauded Trump’s executive order. Rep. Tim Walberg, chair of the House education committee, said in a statement that Republicans “have long had concerns about the open-ended nature of PSLF.”
The executive order “is in line with House Republican’s goal of delivering the reforms to PSLF that are sorely needed,” Walberg said.
Are you enrolled in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program? Contact this reporter via email at [email protected].
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