White House Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Restores Public Service Loan Forgiveness

ALIGNING PUBLIC SERVICE LOAN FORGIVENESS WITH ACTUAL PUBLIC SERVICE: Today, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order to end taxpayer-funded student loan forgiveness for anti-American activists. 

• The Order directs the Secretary of Education to revise the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program to exclude from eligibility organizations that engage in activities that have a substantial illegal purpose.
• It stops taxpayer funds from subsidizing through loan forgiveness activities that advance illegal immigration, terrorism, child abuse, discrimination, and public disruptions.
• It refocuses PSLF on its original intent of encouraging Americans to enter essential public service roles, such as nursing, rather than activist groups.
• It protects national security and American values by ending federal support for organizations that harm American values and the public interest.

CORRECTING THE ABUSE OF THIS FORGIVENESS PROGRAM BY THE PRIOR ADMINISTRATION: President Trump believes that organizations whose activities have a substantial illegal purpose shall not be eligible for public service loan forgiveness.

• The PSLF program was created in 2007 to encourage Americans to enter critical public service jobs by forgiving the student loans of those who take such jobs after 10 years of service and loan payments.
• The current eligibility rules allow people working for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that advance illegal immigration, terrorism, discrimination, and violent protests to obtain taxpayer-funded loan forgiveness.
  • The Biden Administration was accused of using the student loan forgiveness program to pay pro-Palestinian and pro-Hamas activists and criminals with taxpayer dollars.
• Further, the prior administration's waiver process misused taxpayer funds to forgive loans years early.
  • Biden made immediate forgiveness available for people who didn't pay the full amount, didn't pay on time, or didn't even enroll in the right repayment plan.
• Prior to Biden taking office, PSLF had forgiven debt for just 7,000 borrowers, but Biden ballooned this program to erase student loans for over 1 million borrowers.
• This abuse has increased the cost of tuition, burdened students with debt, and encouraged them to join organizations that undermine national security and the societal good.
• This Executive Order corrects this abuse by ensuring only legitimate public servants benefit, not those engaged in illegal or harmful activities.

STOPPING TAXPAYER DOLLARS FROM FUNDING RADICAL AGENDAS: President Trump is ensuring American values guide the use of taxpayer funds.

• By signing this Executive Order, President Trump continues to fulfill his promise to halt taxpayer funding of radical agendas.

This action builds on others he has taken in his second term to align taxpayer dollars with American values, including by terminating radical "diversity, equity, and inclusion" (DEI) preferences in federal contracting, reinstating the Mexico City Policy to stop federal funding of abortion overseas, and ending radical indoctrination in K-12 schooling.