AFT Criticizes Trump Administration Over Student Loan Forgiveness Delay

Trump Administration Faces Challenges with Student Loan Forgiveness Backlog

WASHINGTON—The Trump administration is under scrutiny following an updated filing revealing a persistent backlog in student loan forgiveness cases. This situation arises from a court-approved settlement reached in October with the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), which had previously taken legal action against the Department of Education for not providing legally mandated relief to millions of borrowers.

AFT President Randi Weingarten expressed her concerns: “It was good news when the administration agreed with us in October to protect borrowers enrolled in income-driven repayment plans and deliver tax-free debt relief to borrowers as required by federal law. And even better news that they publicly promoted the settlement as a win. The problem is they don’t appear to have honored their word—the borrower backlog remains eye-popping, and Education Secretary Linda McMahon clearly has no idea how to manage this process. Perhaps she shouldn’t have sold the Department of Education off for parts—thanks to the illegal firing of half its staff, borrower services are on life support.”

Current reports indicate that as of November, the Department of Education has managed to discharge the debt for only 170 individuals, with 280 more benefiting from Public Service Loan Forgiveness. Meanwhile, an estimated 800,000 applications for relief under income-driven repayment and PSLF await processing.

Weingarten emphasized the human impact of these delays: “Those applications and requests are not just paperwork—they represent the hopes and dreams of Americans who are striving for a better life but remain shackled by an unaffordable and unsustainable debt load. President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance may believe affordability is a hoax, but hundreds of thousands of Americans just trying to get ahead are bleeding—and the administration’s lack of action is rubbing salt into the wound. That’s why we will not stop fighting until the administration implements our landmark agreement, follows the law and processes every single outstanding application so that American borrowers receive the relief they need and deserve.”

AFT's Role

The AFT represents 1.8 million individuals, including pre-K through 12th-grade teachers, paraprofessionals, higher education faculty, government employees, nurses, healthcare workers, and early childhood educators.