Open Date: September 2025
Closed Date: 9/17/2025
Agency: Department of Education
The Department of Education is proposing changes to its Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. Created in 2007, PSLF encourages Americans to take essential public service jobs, like firefighting, nursing, and public law, in exchange for help with their student loans. Under PSLF, people who make 10 years of payments while working for approved employers can have the rest of their loans forgiven. Over time, though, PSLF has gone beyond its original purpose. It now forgives loans for many nonprofit employees whose organizations are involved with foreign terrorist organizations, illegal immigration activities, and medical gender transitions for minors. Instead of simply serving those who serve us, PSLF has become a backdoor funder of extreme and even illegal activities.
In March 2025, President Trump signed an executive order to return PSLF to its core promise and remove “individuals employed by organizations whose activities have a substantial illegal purpose” from the program. As the Department of Education put it simply, organizations that are found to be “supporting terrorism, aiding or abetting discrimination or violations of immigration laws, or child abuse” would no longer be approved employers. PSLF was never meant to serve those who work against the interests of everyday Americans. This common-sense fix returns PSLF to its original purpose, supporting borrowers who dedicate their careers to public service, and makes sure taxpayers are not funding extreme or illegal activities.
Reforming PSLF will:
- Reward and encourage lawful public service.
- Stop subsidizing employers that harm children, support terrorism, or help others break the law.
- Ensure taxpayer money is used to serve the public interest.
