The president signed an order that would order the education secretary to propose changing some terms, which are already codified in federal law, of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.
Trump wants Education secretary to ‘put herself out of a job’
President Donald Trump told reporters that Linda McMahon, his nominee to lead the Education Dept., should eventually “put herself out of a job.”
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump on Friday signed an executive order attempting to begin the process of altering the terms of a major student loan relief program.
The move, which directs the education secretary to go forward with revising a law passed by Congress, pleased some conservatives while angering student loan borrowers and advocates, who vowed to launch a court challenge.
The proposal would affect the Public Service Loan Forgiveness, or PSLF, program, which was created by Congress in 2007 to ease the student debt burdens of Americans in public service-oriented careers. Under the program, government workers, nurses, firefighters and certain nonprofit employees are eligible to have their federal student loan debt canceled in full after 10 years of on-time payments.
The order tells the education secretary to begin drafting new regulations to revise the definition of “public service” to exclude organizations that “engage in activities that have a substantial illegal purpose.” The scope of those activities includes groups that are “aiding or abetting” violations of immigration law, “supporting terrorism,” contributing to gender-affirming care or engaging in a pattern of “violating state laws.”
Speaking beside Trump in the Oval Office on Friday, Kevin Hassett, the director of the National Economic Council, said the executive order would alter PSLF eligibility for certain employees the administration deems have been engaged in “improper activities.”
“The problem is that a lot of these people work for NGO organizations or nonprofit organizations that engage in illegal, what we consider to be improper, activities,” he said, “supporting, for example, illegal immigration or foreign terrorist organizations.”
The eligibility terms for PSLF were set by Congress. Under the Constitution, laws can only be substantively changed through Congress, via amendments or new laws.
Trump cannot alter the Education Department rules governing PSLF with just an executive order. He is legally required to go through a lengthy regulatory process to make changes.
Aaron Ament, the president of the National Student Legal Defense Network, criticized the Trump administration in a statement Friday. The PSLF program was a bipartisan law signed by President George W. Bush, he said, and it has endured several presidential administrations.
“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,” he said. “If the Trump administration follows through on this threat, they can plan to see us in court.”
The PSLF program was mismanaged for years, including during Trump’s first term, until Joe Biden assumed the presidency. Under Biden, the U.S. Department of Education approved billions of dollars in debt for more than 1 million PSLF borrowers. The milestone was reached by the administration just before Trump reclaimed the White House in November.
Zachary Schermele is an education reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach him by email at [email protected]. Follow him on X at @ZachSchermele and Bluesky at @zachschermele.bsky.social.