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Wednesday, Apr. 23, 2025

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Linda McMahon's Education Department is just a glorified loan collection agency

By Hayes Brown

Education Secretary Linda McMahon took to the Wall Street Journal's opinion section on Monday to explain why her department will once more shake down former students who are behind on their loan repayments. The resumption of involuntary loan repayments for federal borrowers in default couldn't come at a worse time for Americans already struggling with higher prices. It also underscores the Department of Education's transformation under President Donald Trump from a guarantor for all kids to have a quality education into a glorified bill collection agency.

It was Trump himself who first paused collection on student loans during the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. When President Joe Biden took office, after campaigning on student loan forgiveness, he extended the pause multiple times until it finally lapsed in September 2023. His administration then instituted a 12-month "on-ramp" for borrowers to begin their repayments. Since that relief period ended, according to an estimate last month from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, around 9.7 million borrowers became past due on their bills.

In her essay, McMahon lamented that the Biden administration had "allowed students to rack up a massive debt that is now long past due." From her point of view, her department turning out the pockets of former students who are unable to pay is only needed because they spent so long without paying.

This is a preview of Hayes Brown's latest article. Read the full column here.

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