Leavitt Warns 5 Million Student Loan Borrowers: Biden's Relief Program Expires Soon!

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Tuesday warned that Joe Biden The "illegal student loan bailout" initiative is coming to an end, and individuals who are behind on their payments will be required to repay their debts.

On May 5th, the Department of Education will resume involuntary collections for borrowers with defaulted federal student loans.

Out of over 42.7 million students with loans totaling $1.6 trillion, approximately 5 million haven’t made payments in the last year, data from the Department of Education shows. This figure may increase further since another 4 million borrowers are nearing default status.

"If you borrow money, you must repay it. It’s straightforward. President Trump won’t postpone addressing this issue any longer," Leavitt stated during her press conference.

'The burden of debt doesn’t disappear; it merely shifts to someone else. Therefore, why should U.S. citizens who never attended college or those who completed college and diligently repaid their own loans shoulder the responsibility of paying off the educational debts of fellow Americans?' she pointed out.

Leavitt cautioned that those in default would be subject to collection efforts.

'The expectation is clear: borrowers must now ensure they repay their loans, and individuals who fail to meet their loan commitments will encounter involuntary collection measures,' she stated.

The government has the authority to recover overdue federal student loan debts by seizing funds directly from borrowers, including their tax returns, federal retirement benefits, and salaries. The nation currently faces a debt of $36 trillion. It is essential for us to regain control over our financial situation and reintroduce practicality back into our country’s management.

Borrowers whose student loans are in default will soon receive communications from Federal Student Aid containing details about their choices, as stated by the Education Department.

When a borrower fails to make a payment within 90 days of its due date, their student loan status changes to delinquent. Should this situation persist for an additional period of around nine months—equivalent to 270 days—the loan will enter a state of default.

Federal student loan payments were suspended in 2020 during President Donald Trump's tenure, part of his administration’s measures to combat the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic after he enacted a stimulus bill.

President Joe Biden maintained the suspension as promised during his election campaign to alleviate student debt; however, in 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court declared his initiative unconstitutional due to lack of congressional endorsement.

Payments started on August 30, 2023, however, according to the Education Department, less than one-third of borrowers have made timely payments so far.

It was observed that approximately 2 million borrowers could not make federal student loan payments by August 2024 due to delays in processing their documents.

Linda McMahon, who serves as the secretary of the Department of Education, stated that greedy colleges have "benefitted extensively" from the Biden administration's loan forgiveness initiative.

She criticized Biden for holding out "the promise of student debt relief as bait for young voters" when he ran for president in 2020.

Despite being labeled as nonprofit institutions, colleges and universities have long been benefiting substantially from federal subsidies through student loans," she explained in her Wall Street Journal opinion piece on Monday. "Meanwhile, these institutions continue to increase tuition fees, accumulate billion-dollar endowments, leaving graduates with over $100,000 in debt.

" Accountability works both ways. While we strive to ensure students take responsibility for their loans, we will also urge universities to become more accountable and open," she pledged.