Trump administration suspends student loan payments through January
The IndependentSign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Donald Trump’s administration has extended its suspension of federal student loan repayments until the end of January 2021, keeping interest rates at zero per cent, amid the public health crisis and massive economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. More than 45 million Americans hold more than $1.6tn in student loan debt, a figure that has surged within the last decade as private university enrollment grew and federal and state governments made steep cuts to higher education funding against growing wealth inequality. “The Congress, not the Executive Branch, is in charge of student loan policy.” The pandemic, its economic fallout and inadequate federal relief have likely exacerbated the student debt crisis. In 2019, Secretary DeVos proposed handing the federal government’s $1.6tn student loan portfolio to a “stand-alone government corporation,” rather than the department's Office of Federal Student Aid.