Some of President Donald Trump‘s recent education initiatives and tentative plans, including the potential dismantling of the Department of Education (DOE) and subsequent restructuring of student loan programs, reflect similar recommendations outlined in Project 2025, a conservative policy agenda he previously sought to distance himself from.
Newsweek has reached out to the DOE and White Housepress team for comment via email on Saturday.
Why It Matters
About 43 million Americans have student loan debt, with the DOE’s Federal Student Aid office managing approximately $1.5 trillion.
Trump has called for the dismantling of the department, stating that if it’s eliminated, student loan portfolios would be moved.
The DOE currently oversees federal student loan programs, distributes financial aid and enforces policies meant to protect borrowers from predatory lending practices. Transferring the student loan programs to another agency could create uncertainty for borrowers.
Project 2025, which has been widely criticized by Democrats, offers recommendations to Trump on education-related initiatives, including changes to student loan programs.
What To Know
On Friday, Trump signed an executive order “Restoring Public Service Loan Forgiveness” directing Education Secretary Linda McMahon to “ensure the definition of ‘public service’ excludes organizations that engage in activities that have a substantial illegal purpose,” for participants in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program.
PSLF created by Congress, allows government and nonprofit employees to have their remaining student loan balances wiped out after 10 years of minimum payments.
While Trump’s move is more moderate than Project 2025’s, which calls for the program’s total termination, the president and Project 2025 have criticized the Biden administration’s expansion of PSLF and advocate for scaling it back.
Project 2025 is a conservative policy agenda that many have linked to Trump, who, before winning the 2024 election, pledged he had “nothing to do with Project 2025,” a nearly 900-page police blueprint spearheaded by The Heritage Foundation.
Before the PSLF executive order, in late February, the Trump administration suddenly stopped accepting online applications for four of its federal student loan income-driven repayment (IDR) and loan consolidation plans. The DOE removed affected IDR program’s applications off its site, affecting millions of borrowers who rely on repayment plans to manage their student debt.
IDR plans, of which there are several, often provide a lower monthly payment compared to other plans because they are based on income and family size rather than loan amount. The plans’ futures are still uncertain.
Project 2025 suggests: “The Secretary should phase out all existing IDR plans by making new loans (including consolidation loans) ineligible and should implement a new IDR plan.” It outlines the new plan as having “an income exemption equal to the poverty line and require payments of 10 percent of income above the exemption,” advocating for stricter repayment structure, and suggesting no forgiveness, saying “If new legislation is possible, there should be no loan forgiveness, but if not, existing law would require forgiving any remaining balance after 25 years.”
Other Trump education-related policy suggestions, such as the potential dismantling of the DOE, which he had vowed to do on the campaign trail, align very closely with Project 2025. Trump’s press secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed the idea that he would sign an executive order on the matter Thursday.
While eliminating the department would require congressional approval, its dissolution would significantly impact millions of borrowers and the American education system at large.
Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that he has discussed moving student loans to either the Treasury or Commerce departments or the Small Business Administration (SBA), if the department is dismantled.
“We actually had that discussion today, I don’t think the education should be handling the loans, that’s not their business,” Trump said.
Project 2025 urges Trump to create a new loan agency entirely, writing: “The next Administration should completely reverse the student loan federalization of 2010 and work with Congress to spin off FSA and its student loan obligations to a new government corporation with professional governance and management.”
The conservative blueprint notes that “federal loans would be assigned directly to the Treasury Department, which would manage collections and defaults.”
If the federal government reduces its role in student lending, private lenders could step in, potentially making college less affordable, experts warn. Project 2025 supports privatizing lending programs, urging the administration to consider “privatizing all lending programs, including subsidized, unsubsidized, and PLUS loans.”
Trump and Project 2025’s education policy recommendations have raised concerns among Democrats and critics over affordability and other potential impacts.
Photo by Oliver Contreras/Sipa USA)(Sipa via AP Images
What People Are Saying
Education Secretary Linda McMahon in a statement: “Removing red tape and bureaucratic barriers will empower parents to make the best educational choices for their children. An effective transfer of educational oversight to the states will mean more autonomy for local communities. Teachers, too, will benefit from less micromanagement in the classroom—enabling them to get back to basics.”
Representative Maxine Dexter, an Oregon Democrat, wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday: “If Trump gets his way and guts the U.S. Department of Education, 7.5 million students with disabilities will lose access to critical special education services funded by the federal government. The American people did not vote for reckless, chaotic attacks on our children and public schools—and I will fight to ensure every student gets the support they deserve.”
Peter Granville, a fellow at The Century Foundation where he analyzes federal and state policy efforts to improve college access and affordability, previously told Newsweek: “ We have seen significant alignment between the administration’s actions and what was in Project 2025. That document says the federal government should get out of the student loan business entirely. That would send student loans to the private market, which would be terrible for students from low-income families.”
Elon Musk wrote on X in February: “Reagan campaigned on ending the federal Dept of Education, which was created by Carter in 1979, but it was bigger when Reagan left office than when he started! Not this time. President @realDonaldTrump will succeed.”
What Happens Next?
The future of student loan administration remains uncertain, with potential education policy changes ahead.
