SUBSCRIBE & SAVE Less than $3 per week View Profile The Explainer Talking Points The Week Recommends Newsletters From the Magazine The Week Junior Food & Drink Personal Finance All Categories Newsletter sign up today's big question Why are student loan borrowers falling behind on payments? Delinquencies surge as the Trump administration upends the program Newsletter sign up Roughly 9 million Americans have missed or late payments (Image credit: Illustration by Stephen Kelly / Getty Images) Joel Mathis, The Week US 1 April 2025 Student loans are coming due, but they are not necessarily getting paid. Missed and late payments are surging to record levels right as the Trump administration attempts to dismantle the agency that oversees the loans. A "record share" of student loan debt is delinquent, said Axios. Nearly a quarter of borrowers — roughly 9 million Americans — are behind on their payments, a development that threatens to hurt the credit scores of young borrowers. The growing number of delinquencies is a sign there is "more stress on American consumers than previously known." The eventual result could be "reduced credit limits, higher interest rates for new loans, and overall lower credit access" for a generation of college graduates, said New York Fed research economists Daniel Mangrum and Crystal Wang. The rise in delinquencies comes as the Trump administration tries to move oversight of student loans from the Education Department to the Small Business Administration. The SBA is "slated to lose 43% of its staff," said Politico, raising concerns even among the president's GOP allies. "Many Republicans are worried" about whether SBA can handle "the complex system of servicers, borrowers and loan applications." Subscribe to The Week Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives. SUBSCRIBE & SAVE Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox. From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox. What did the commentators say? The student loan program "is in critical condition" Bloomberg said. A Covid-era freeze on loan payments, coupled with an "ill-advised" Biden administration effort to forgive loans, exacerbated an existing problem: "Too many students have loans they can't repay." The Trump administration "isn't helping," though. Its plans to dismantle the Education Department might be smart in the "long run," but at the moment "it's making matters worse," the outlet added. For Congress and the White House, "fixing the current student loan mess should be job No. 1." Republicans should "kill loan forgiveness for government and nonprofit workers," said The Wall Street Journal. President Donald Trump in March moved to limit a federal program that forgives student loans in "public service" after they have made 10 years of payments. The program "rewards a politically favored group of workers" and diverts talent away from private business. Congress should eliminate the "subsidy" for public service and use the money to "pay for an extension of the 2017 tax cuts that benefit all workers" instead, added the Journal. It's "not clear Trump can move student loans" to SBA, said CNBC. Only Congress can demolish the Education Department, and the law says the department's Federal Student Aid is responsible for the loans. "Borrowers don't know what to do" for now, said Persis Yu at the Student Borrower Protection Center. Young workers are meanwhile increasingly faced with a choice, said Marketplace: "Pay the student loan debt, the credit card debt or the rent?" Missing student loan payments "could lead to lifetime consequences," said University of Cambridge professor Constantine Yannelis. People with lower credit scores will find it more difficult to buy a home, which in turn could mean they have "have less money in retirement, and we could be seeing the echoes of this problem for decades to come." Explore More student loans Today's big question Donald Trump Department of Education Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. Joel Mathis, The Week US Social Links Navigation Joel Mathis is a writer with 30 years of newspaper and online journalism experience. His work also regularly appears in National Geographic and The Kansas City Star. His awards include best online commentary at the Online News Association and (twice) at the City and Regional Magazine Association. Not there yet: The frustrations of the pocket AI Apple rushes to roll out its ‘Apple Intelligence’ features but fails to deliver on promises ByThe Week US Published 1 April 25 George Foreman: The boxing champ who reinvented home grills He helped define boxing’s golden era ByThe Week US Published 1 April 25 WHCA rejects White House press seating grab The White House Correspondents' Association objected to the Trump administration's bid to control where journalists sit during press briefings ByRafi Schwartz, The Week US Published 1 April 25 You might also like WHCA rejects White House press seating grab The White House Correspondents' Association objected to the Trump administration's bid to control where journalists sit during press briefings ByRafi Schwartz, The Week US Published 1 April 25 Trump sends more migrants to El Salvador jail Another 17 Venezuelan alleged gang members have been deported to a notorious prison ByPeter Weber, The Week US Published 1 April 25 Law firms: Caving to White House pressure Trump targets major law firms tied to his past investigations ByThe Week US Published 31 March 25 Rule of law: Are we in a constitutional crisis? Donald Trump defies federal court order to halt deportation flights to El Salvador ByThe Week US Published 31 March 25 Trump 'not joking' about unconstitutional 3rd term The president seems to be serious about seeking a third term in 2028 ByPeter Weber, The Week US Published 31 March 25 Why does Donald Trump want Greenland? The Explainer Trump is not the only US president who has tried to gain control of Greenland ByThe Week UK Published 29 March 25 What dangers does the leaked Signal chat expose the US to? TODAY'S BIG QUESTION The White House's ballooning group chat scandal offered a masterclass in what not to say when prying eyes might be watching ByRafi Schwartz, The Week US Published 27 March 25 Trump sets 25% tariffs on auto imports The White House says the move will increase domestic manufacturing. But the steep import taxes could also harm the US auto industry. ByPeter Weber, The Week US Published 27 March 25 View More ▸ Contact Future's experts Terms and Conditions Privacy Policy Cookie Policy Advertise With Us The Week is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site. Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street