White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced Tuesday that repayment of student loans to the federal government will recommence in May.
Student loan payments were initially paused under the Trump administration in March of 2020 as the COVID pandemic lockdowns were instituted, putting many out of work.
However, then-presidential candidate Joe Biden campaigned in 2020 on forgiving student loans, but when he could not garner the needed support in Congress, he sought to do so through various executive actions, which courts, including the Supreme Court, struck down multiple times.
Further, the Department of Education pointed out in a Monday news release, “While Congress mandated that student and parent borrowers begin to repay their student loans in October 2023, the Biden-Harris Administration refused to lift the collections pause and kept borrowers in a confusing limbo.”
Leavitt told reporters on Tuesday that the Trump administration “will put an end to Joe Biden’s illegal student loan bailout attempts.”
“No student loan has been referred to collection since March of 2020. That comes to an end,” she continued. “On May 5, the Department of Education will resume involuntary collections for borrowers with defaulted federal student loans.”
PRESS SEC: “No student loan has been referred to collection since March of 2020, that comes to an end. On May 5th, the department of education will resume involuntary collections for borrowers with defaulted federal student loans.” pic.twitter.com/MVEQ1jiiLv
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) April 22, 2025
The DOE noted in its news release that 42.7 million Americans have borrowed more than $1.6 trillion in student loans.
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“Fewer than four out of 10 borrowers are in repayment. This is unsustainable, unfair, and a huge liability for American taxpayers,” Leavitt said.
“Debt cannot be wiped away. It just ends up getting transferred to others. So why should Americans who didn’t go to college or went to college and responsibly paid back their loans, pay for the student loans of other Americans?” she asked.
“The Trump administration will never force taxpayers to pay the student loan debts that don’t belong to them,” Leavitt said.
She explained that those who fail to begin repaying their student loans will have the money taken from their tax refunds or experience wage garnishments.
Leavitt concluded, “America is $36 trillion in debt. We must get our fiscal house in order and restore common sense to our country. If you take out a loan, you have to pay it back.”
Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a Monday statement, “American taxpayers will no longer be forced to serve as collateral for irresponsible student loan policies.”
“The Biden Administration misled borrowers: The executive branch does not have the constitutional authority to wipe debt away, nor do the loan balances simply disappear. Hundreds of billions have already been transferred to taxpayers,” she continued.
“Going forward, the Department of Education, in conjunction with the Department of Treasury, will shepherd the student loan program responsibly and according to the law, which means helping borrowers return to repayment — both for the sake of their own financial health and our nation’s economic outlook,” McMahon said.
The DOE emphasized, “Student and parent borrowers – not taxpayers – must repay their student loans.”
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