Restoring Public Service Loan Forgiveness
TLDR
This executive order restricts Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) eligibility by excluding organizations deemed to have a “substantial illegal purpose,” specifically targeting those aiding immigration law violations, supporting terrorism, providing gender-affirming care to transgender youth, engaging in “illegal discrimination,” or violating state laws related to protests.
President Trump has signed an executive order titled “Restoring Public Service Loan Forgiveness” that significantly narrows eligibility for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program.
The executive order directs the Secretary of Education to revise regulations governing the PSLF Program to exclude organizations deemed to engage in activities with a “substantial illegal purpose” from the definition of “public service.” The order claims the previous administration “abused” the program through waivers that forgave loans before borrowers completed the statutorily required number of payments.
The order specifically targets excluding organizations that:
- Aid perceived violations of federal immigration laws
- Support terrorism or engage in violence to influence government policy
- Engage in what the order describes as “child abuse,” including gender-affirming care for transgender youth
- Aid “illegal discrimination”
- Violate state tort laws related to protests (trespassing, disorderly conduct, etc.)
This executive order represents a significant restriction on PSLF eligibility that could affect thousands of public service workers. The original PSLF Program, established in 2007, was designed to forgive federal student loans for borrowers who work for 10 years in qualifying public service jobs while making 120 qualifying monthly payments.
The order uses highly charged language to characterize certain organizations and medical procedures, particularly regarding transgender healthcare which it describes as “chemical and surgical castration or mutilation of children.” This framing contradicts the medical consensus of major healthcare organizations that gender-affirming care can be appropriate and necessary treatment.
The broad and subjective nature of “substantial illegal purpose” creates uncertainty about which organizations would be excluded. The order could potentially affect employees at immigrant rights organizations, civil rights groups, environmental advocacy organizations, and healthcare providers offering gender-affirming care, among others.
By targeting organizations involved in protests that may involve civil disobedience, the order also raises First Amendment concerns regarding free speech and assembly rights.
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered:
Section 1.
Purpose.
In 2007, the Congress established the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program to encourage Americans to enter the public service sector by promising to forgive their remaining student loans after they completed 10 years of service in those jobs while making 10 years of minimum payments.
The prior administration abused the PSLF Program through a waiver process, using taxpayer funds to pay off loans for employees still years away from the statutorily required number of payments. Moreover, 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. The PSLF Program also creates perverse incentives that can increase the cost of tuition, can load students in low-need majors with unsustainable debt, and may push students into organizations that hide under the umbrella of a non-profit designation and degrade our national interest, thus requiring additional Federal funding to correct the negative societal effects caused by these organizations’ federally subsidized wrongdoing.
As President of the United States, I have a duty to protect, preserve, and defend the Constitution and our national security, which includes ending the subsidization of illegal activities, including illegal immigration, human smuggling, child trafficking, pervasive damage to public property, and disruption of the public order, which threaten the security and stability of the United States. Accordingly, it is the policy of my Administration that individuals employed by organizations whose activities have a substantial illegal purpose shall not be eligible for public service loan forgiveness.
Sec. 2.
Restoring Public Service Loan Forgiveness.
The Secretary of Education shall propose revisions to 34 C.F.R. 685.219, Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program, in coordination with the Secretary of the Treasury as appropriate, that ensure the definition of “public service” excludes organizations that engage in activities that have a substantial illegal purpose, including:
(a) aiding or abetting violations of 8 U.S.C. 1325 or other Federal immigration laws;
(b) supporting terrorism, including by facilitating funding to, or the operations of, cartels designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations consistent with 8 U.S.C. 1189, or by engaging in violence for the purpose of obstructing or influencing Federal Government policy;
© child abuse, including the chemical and surgical castration or mutilation of children or the trafficking of children to so-called transgender sanctuary States for purposes of emancipation from their lawful parents, in violation of applicable law;
(d) engaging in a pattern of aiding and abetting illegal discrimination; or
(e) engaging in a pattern of violating State tort laws, including laws against trespassing, disorderly conduct, public nuisance, vandalism, and obstruction of highways.
Sec. 3.
General Provisions.
(a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.
© This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.