Trump Administration is Making Changes to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program
What is This About?
This is a presidential order as of March 7, 2025, directing the Department of Education to revise the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program.
The Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program was created in 2007 under President George W. Bush as part of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act (CCRAA). The law was passed by Congress with bipartisan support and was signed into law by President Bush on September 27, 2007.
The PSLF program was designed to encourage individuals to pursue careers in public service by forgiving remaining student loan balances after 10 years of qualifying payments while working full-time for eligible employers.
Eligible employers include government organizations, 501(c)(3) nonprofits, and other not-for-profit organizations providing designated public services.
To qualify for public service loan forgiveness, borrowers must make 120 on-time monthly payments under a qualifying repayment plan, such as an Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) plan.
The Problem
The Trump executive order states that the previous administration misused the program by:
- Forgiving loans to people who had not made the required number of payments
- Giving loan forgiveness to people working at organizations that do not truly serve the public interest
- Creating a system that might raise college costs and encourage students to take on too much debt
The Changes
The President orders the Secretary of Education to change the rules about which organizations count as “public service.” The new rules will exclude organizations that:
- Help people break immigration laws
- Support terrorism or use violence to try to change government policies
- Harm children, including organizations involved in gender transition procedures for minors without parental consent
- Help others illegally discriminate against people
- Repeatedly break state laws about trespassing, disorderly conduct, vandalism, or blocking highways
Why This Matters
President Trump believes it’s important that taxpayer money allocated for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program and student loan forgiveness only goes to organizations truly serving the public good, not those engaged in activities the administration considers harmful or illegal.
This 3D column chart presents a comprehensive analysis of student loan forgiveness spending in billions over the past five years, from 2020 to 2024, based on reports from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and the Government Accountability Office (GAO). PSLF is 31.4% of total Student Loan Forgiveness spending.
Legal Details
This order doesn’t change any existing laws or the powers of government departments.
It will be carried out according to existing laws and available funding.
It doesn’t create any new legal rights people can use to sue the government.
Despite ordered revisions, the Department of Education’s Federal Student Aid office posted on X stating:
“The U.S. Department of Education is reviewing the recent executive order concerning the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program. The PSLF Program is not changing today, and borrowers do not need to take any action”
It’s important to note that any significant modifications to the PSLF program would require Congressional approval.
For more related info, visit Student Loans, Forgiveness | U.S. Department of Education