WASHINGTON – The Trump administration is moving forward with sweeping changes to a key student loan debt program that will likely trigger a court battle in the coming days.
The Education Department finalized new rules for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program on Oct. 30. The program allows people in specialized careers – such as nursing, firefighting, teaching and certain types of nonprofit work – to have their student debt canceled after 10 years of timely payments. It was mismanaged for years until recently, when President Joe Biden reformed it, ultimately forgiving billions of dollars in debt for more than 1 million Americans.
President Donald Trump has vowed to rein in PSLF. The new regulations, which have been in the works for months, would limit the types of employers whose workers would qualify to have their debt forgiven. Specifically, the rules prevent businesses and organizations that have engaged in a "substantial illegal purpose" from being eligible to participate.
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Yet it's not clear exactly what the Education Department will ultimately define as an "illegal" activity. According to the new regulations, such conduct will likely include providing support for undocumented immigrants, gender-affirming care for minors, supporting "terrorism" and aiding and abetting "illegal discrimination."
