The president and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos have stated that they want to balance the needs of both student loan borrowers and federal taxpayers. Eliminating this program, they argue, would save the federal government money from not having to forgive potentially billions of dollars of federal student loans. Others believe that the program is vital to attract and retain individuals to enter public service and non-profit jobs, many of which pay lower salaries than private sector roles. Supporters of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program believe that ending it could deter student loan borrowers from entering public service jobs, and could adversely impact public servants, including members of the U.S. Armed Forces, police officers, firefighters, first responders, prosecutors, public defenders and others. Importantly, the proposal would impact future borrowers, not existing borrowers who already work in public service and are currently paying off student loans.
Trump does not propose to eliminate all student loan forgiveness. Rather, he proposes to end the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. Trump believes that reducing the number of student loan repayment plans will simplify student loan repayment and help borrowers pay off student loans faster.