Topline
The Trump administration could force millions of federal student loan borrowers to begin making payments again under a proposed new settlement agreement with Missouri, the Department of Education announced Tuesday.
President Joe Biden speaks about student loan relief at Madison College in Madison, Wisconsin, on April 8, 2024. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP)
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Key Facts
Federal student loan borrowers enrolled in the “Saving on a Valuable Education” (SAVE) plan would be enrolled into “legal repayment plans” under the agreement, pending court approval.
The agreement would dismiss Missouri’s lawsuit against the federal government in exchange for it effectively shutting down the program.
The federal government estimated in July there were more than 7.6 million SAVE borrowers in forbearance.
The Trump administration accused the Biden administration of seeking to “unlawfully shift student loan debt onto American taxpayers” through the SAVE plan, widely considered the most lenient student loan forgiveness program as it shortens the forgiveness timeline for some borrowers with smaller amounts of debt, ultimately making forgiveness inevitable.
Big Number
$1.7 trillion. That’s the total amount of outstanding federal student loan debt.