Trump issues executive order restricting participation in Public Service Loan Forgiveness program

Though former President Joe Biden seemed to believe there were no limits when it came to twisting the law to forgive student loan debt, the current commander in chief is putting strict limits on one particular program regularly used to eliminate such obligations.

As The Hill reports, on Friday, Trump signed an executive order that excludes employees of nonprofit organizations involved in the “subsidization of illegal activities” from benefitting from the federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program.

Executive order issued

The prohibition articulated by the executive order is straightforward, stating that “individuals employed by organizations whose activities have a substantial illegal purpose shall not be eligible for public service loan forgiveness.”

Trump's order went on, “Instead of alleviating worker shortages in necessary occupations, the PSLF Program has misdirected tax dollars into activist organizations that not only fail to serve the public interest, but actually harm our national security and American values, sometimes through criminal means.”

According to the order, PSLF eligibility will be limited to those in nonprofit positions, and new Education Secretary Linda McMahon will be charged with redefining the meaning of “public service” under the program in a way that prevents the participation of groups with a “substantial illegal purpose” such as circumventing immigration law or supporting terrorism.

The PSLF program was initiated in 2007, and since that time, over a million student loan borrowers have had their debts forgiven under its terms.

Under its original provisions, PSLF allowed individuals serving in government positions, such as jobs in teaching, nursing, or law enforcement, and those with nonprofit positions to obtain debt forgiveness after making consecutive loan payments for a period of ten years.

Battle lines drawn

Outlining the administration's rationale for the shift was Kevin Hassett, the director of the National Economic Council, who, as USA Today reported, explained, “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...supporting, for example, illegal immigration or foreign terrorist organizations.”

Critics of the executive order included Aaron Ament, president of the National Student Legal Defense Network, who said, “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.”

Ament continued, “If the Trump administration follows through on this threat, they can plan to see us in court.”

Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) was similarly strident in her opposition to Trump's order, saying, “Trump broke PSLF during his first term so that it was functionally nonexistent, and now President Trump is once again trying to use his office to force his extreme political views on the American people by choking off promised relief for people who've served our country in ways he disagrees with.”

Where the fight goes from here remains to be seen, but the idea that taxpayers should be responsible for repaying anyone's student debt, let alone those who work for legally questionable nonprofit organizations, is one with which millions of Americans have already registered their disapproval.