The Troubles with the Trump Administration’s Involuntary Student Debt Collection Delay

Neal McCluskey

On January 16, the US Department of Education announced that it will delay the collection of defaulted federal student debt via wage garnishment and retention of federal funds such as Social Security payments. The reasons offered by the Trump administration are that the Biden administration left student debt repayment a confused mess that needs to be clarified before forced collection resumes, and the Working Families Tax Cuts Act—aka One Big Beautiful Bill—will simplify debt repayment starting this July...