President Donald Trump's administration has moved to cut thousands of employees from the Environmental Protection Agency in accordance with his promise to do so if a government shutdown ensued, Breitbart reported. The federal government has been shut down since Oct. 1 after Democrats failed to agree to a deal that would have kept the government open through the end of the year.
While the EPA does the vital work of keeping America's skies and waterways clean, it is also a bastion of leftist activism. Furthermore, it is also a bloated bureaucracy that consumes taxpayer dollars while returning relatively little in return.
Trump had recommended that the agency reduce its workforce of 16,421 full-time employees to approximately 12,500 by the end of this year. The agency also reduced or canceled grants and other spending by $29 billion, thanks to Trump.
Of course, any time the government is asked to reduce its spending, some make catastrophic predictions. The same applies to this, as some believe that permanently laying off employees who were furloughed during the shutdown is a risky move. However, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has assured the public that a contingency plan is in place.
Even with the government shutdown dragging on into its fourth week, Zeldin said that the agency will still be able to meet its core objectives even if the Democrats continue to play games. "The Trump EPA is committed to protecting the environment and ensuring America has the cleanest air, land and water in the world while growing our economy, but Democrats are content to allow our funding to run out," Zeldin said.
"They are preventing us from securing funding needed to continue these important programs and impeding our ability to deliver clean air, land, and water for Americans. They are prioritizing their own radical policy agenda that could undermine both environmental progress and economic stability in pursuit of their $1.5 trillion poison-packed wish list at the expense of the American people," he went on.
"Congressional Democrats can end this shutdown right now by voting for our clean, bipartisan funding extension instead of playing political games," Zeldin concluded. The agency has promised to continue with its operations, including "Protection of EPA land, buildings, equipment, and protection of research; Law enforcement and criminal investigations; Emergency and disaster assistance; Superfund response work; EPA’s emergency response readiness operations," the news outlet noted.
What won't be carried on are functions like "Issuing new grants or interagency agreements; Civil enforcement inspections; Approvals of pending state requests, such as authorized/delegated state-issued EPA permits, SIPs, TMDLs, Water Quality Standards." Nevertheless, the agency has continued to operate despite Democrats' unwillingness to vote to keep the lights on.
Some of the functions successfully carried out include remediation of several "superfund" sites that are tainted with hazardous waste, including Glycerin Traders in La Porte, Indiana, and Berry’s Creek in Bergen County, New Jersey. It has also continued to play an advisory role in wildfire prevention and cleanup.
It appears that the EPA is performing well, despite having to reduce some services due to the shutdown that Democrats continue to perpetuate. Still, many employees are worried about their jobs, especially since they may be on the chopping block due to Trump.
One employee is concerned about seeing reduction-in-force orders come through for those temporarily out of a job due to the shutdown. "I’m worried that I and other furloughed employees will be RIFed," an unidentified staffer said.
"I’d rather go hungry than lose our democracy. I refuse to stay quiet and let them use us feds as an excuse to accept a bad deal," another employee said, clearly showing the leftist bent that many share in government and the EPA, particularly.
Meanwhile, Trump's EPA spokesperson, Brigit Hirsch, said that they've "been intentional and aggressive in establishing a structure to ensure EPA is focused on statutory obligations & Presidential priorities, not the overreach of the previous administration," she told E&E News. "There is zero uncertainty at EPA about what we are working on and who is advancing these priorities," Hirsch added.
Regardless of how it gets done, it's always good news for taxpayers when the government workforce is cut in a significant way. The Democrats have decided to play this game of chicken with Trump, and it appears that once again, he has gotten the best of them.
MSNBC host Jen Psaki is being called out for suggesting that Vice President JD Vance's wife, Usha, finds him "scarier" than President Donald Trump and is perhaps a hostage in her own home, Fox News reported. The former White House press secretary made this outrageous claim on the podcast I've Had It, released on Wednesday.
The title of the podcast episode, "Devil Wears MAGA with Jen Psaki," clearly conveys the viewpoint of all involved. Psaki served as the press secretary under then-President Joe Biden, where she was often forced to cover for the feeble-minded commander-in-chief and toe the Democratic Party line.
Now she has a cushy cable news gig because of it, but her unbelievable bias continues to come through in her remarks. This is especially troubling because, as a leftist woman, she is supposed to be supportive of her fellow females in the public eye, but Psaki made the most disparaging comments about Usha Vance and her relationship with her husband.
Psaki and hosts Jennifer Welch and Angie "Pumps" Sullivan pulled no punches in Tuesday's sitdown, which already had over a million views by the following day. "I think the little Manchurian candidate, JD Vance, wants to be president more than anything else," Psaki said about the vice president.
"I always wonder what's going on in the mind of his wife. Like, are you OK?" she said of Usha Vance, who has been married to JD since 2014. The couple also has three children together.
"Please blink four times. We'll come over here. We'll save you," Psaki added, implying that a woman who made a vow to her husband is somehow now a hostage.
Psaki, who arguably held the highest job in her profession as Biden's mouthpiece, then went on to disparage JD Vance's ambition. "And that he's willing to do anything to get there. And your whole iteration you just outlined, I mean, he's scarier in certain ways in some ways," Psaki went on.
"And he's young and ambitious and agile in the sense that he's a chameleon who makes himself into whatever he thinks the audience wants to hear from him," Psaki added. This remark was more than just a one-off, as it appeared in the episode's tagline.
Although the hosts heartily agreed with Psaki, many other sane Americans did not like what she had to say about the vice president's wife. "Unhinged Jen Psaki is now smearing JD Vance, suggesting that his wife, Usha, wants to leave her husband and offers to 'save' her," the LibsofTikTok account posted to X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday.
"She also thinks JD Vance is 'scarier' than Donald Trump. @MSNBC should be ashamed to pay her salary," the post added and included the clip from the show.
Amy Curtis, a writer for Town Hall, similarly expressed outrage at Psaki's comments. "Also, this is an absolutely vile thing to say. Usha Vance is happily married," Crutis pointed out in her post to X.
"She made a vow to JD, and those words mean something. It’s also an insult to women who are in actual bad marriages," Curtis concluded.
These people on the left have no limits to their depravity and will attack anyone and everyone in Trump's orbit. What Psaki said was unconscionable, and she should apologize to the Vances and to the American people for such vile remarks.
President Donald Trump's pick for head of the Office of Special Counsel (OSC), Paul Ingrassia, withdrew his nomination on Tuesday after Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) said he would not support the nominee because of texts he sent to a group chat that became public.
The texts allegedly said that Ingrassia claimed he had a "Nazi streak" and that the holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. "should be ended and tossed into the seventh circle of hell where it belongs.”
"I will be withdrawing myself from Thursday’s [Senate Homeland Security Committee] hearing to lead the Office of Special Counsel because unfortunately I do not have enough Republican votes at this time," he posted on X. "I appreciate the overwhelming support that I have received throughout this process and will continue to serve President Trump and this administration to Make America Great Again!"
Without Scott's support, Ingrassia could not get approved by the committee and get a full confirmation vote by the Senate.
Ingrassia has been the White House liaison to the United States Department of Homeland Security since February 2025, so he's already been inside the administration, influencing policy and working closely with Trump and others at the White House.
The controversy has been known since June, but the way the Senate has been slow-walking Trump's nominees, it hadn't been a well-known issue.
Allegedly, Ingrassia's mother showed up on Capitol Hill in June and tried to defend him to Reps. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) and Robert Garcia (D-CA), who sent a scathing letter about him to Republicans on the committee.
“Mr. Ingrassia is unfit to serve as special counsel and his nomination is insulting to the American people,” the offensive letter read in part.
Whatever else Ingrassia has said or done, it's just not a good look when your mom shows up to Congress to defend you.
Trump had been making progress in getting his nominees through the confirmation process after Republicans tweaked a few of the rules so that Democrats couldn't continue to slow things down to a snail's pace.
Batches of more than 100 nominees each have been confirmed in one fell swoop over the last few weeks, but any nominees that are controversial or opposed by one or more Republicans, like Ingrassia was, are not included in a batch.
Before Trump took office again in January, most nominees were approved by unanimous consent of the Senate, but that went by the wayside so that Democrats could claim they were trying to preserve Democracy and may never be seen again in Washington.
Eventually, Republicans and Trump got tired of having to spend so much time and effort on each nominee and began demanding the rule changes.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) spearheaded the rule changes in September.
Is an $850 million monument in Chicago’s historic Jackson Park a beacon of hope or a budget-busting eyesore? That’s the question swirling around Barack Obama’s forthcoming Presidential Center, a project drawing both sharp criticism and eager anticipation, the Daily Mail reported.
The Obama Presidential Center, slated for a 2026 opening, promises a sprawling 19.3-acre campus with a museum, library branch, and even an NBA-sized basketball court, but it’s also sparking fierce controversy over its cost, design, and location.
Located in Chicago’s Jackson Park, this ambitious project features an eight-story, 225-foot-tall granite museum, complete with four floors of exhibits chronicling Obama’s presidency and a Sky Room for panoramic views. The design, reportedly inspired by four hands reaching skyward, also includes a forum with a 299-seat auditorium and spaces for podcasts and music recording. A garden pavilion and a fruit-and-vegetable garden at the library branch round out the vision.
Yet, the price tag—$850 million, with reports of being $200 million over budget—has conservatives and locals alike raising eyebrows. How does a project meant to inspire community action justify doubling costs and years of delays? It’s a question that cuts to the heart of fiscal responsibility.
Critics on social media aren’t holding back, blasting the design as a hulking monstrosity unfit for parkland. One user quipped, “A 'living, breathing, dynamic cultural' cement outhouse on steroids?” as cited from online commentary, reflecting a sentiment that this isn’t the legacy many hoped for.
Even Texas Sen. Ted Cruz joined the fray, tweeting, “Locating the Death Star to Chicago was a bold move,” likening the grey monolith to Darth Vader’s infamous lair. It’s a witty jab, but it underscores a deeper concern: does this resemble a cultural hub or a sci-fi fortress? One wonders if the Force is with this budget.
Inside, the museum will boast striking art, like an 83-foot-tall abstract glass piece by Julie Mehretu, drawing from African and American history. The exterior will feature words from Obama’s speech on the 50th anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery marches. It’s a nod to history, but does it outweigh the loss of public green space?
Obama himself has framed the center as more than a personal tribute, telling The New York Times, “I wanted the center to be 'a living, breathing, dynamic cultural and gathering space.'” It’s a lofty goal, but when costs spiral and timelines lag, one must ask if the vision matches the execution. Are we building inspiration or just another overpriced landmark?
The forum building offers a low-slung contrast, housing classrooms, a café, and offices for the Obama Foundation. It’s practical, sure, but critics argue the community feels sidelined, with promises unkept and parkland sacrificed. Is this truly a space for “the people” or a vanity project in disguise?
Public opinion is split down the middle, with some social media users decrying what they see as mismanagement mirrored in Obama’s presidency. Others, however, are thrilled, with one supporter noting, “That's amazing! The Obama Presidential Center sounds like it's going to be a truly inspiring space,” as shared online.
Supporters see potential for events and community engagement, envisioning a welcoming hub that could uplift Chicago’s South Side. They argue it’s a far cry from mere political showboating—think less ballroom renovation, more cultural cornerstone. It’s a fair point, but only if the center delivers on accessibility.
Detractors, though, aren’t buying the hype, pointing to the irony of a “hopeful” project built over a beloved park. They argue the community’s voice has been drowned out by granite and glass. When does inspiration become imposition?
What’s undeniable is the center’s scale—spanning nearly 20 acres with features like a “home court” basketball arena. But scale comes at a cost, and not just in dollars. Should public land and taxpayer goodwill be the price of legacy?
At the end of the day, the Obama Presidential Center could be a game-changer for Chicago if it truly activates and inspires, as its namesake intends. Yet, conservatives must question whether such extravagance aligns with the principles of restraint and accountability we hold dear. It’s a tightrope between honoring history and overreaching ambition.
Come 2026, when those granite doors swing open, the verdict will be in the hands of the people—both those who cheer and those who jeer. Until then, this monolith stands as a symbol of division, a reminder that even the noblest intentions must face the hard light of scrutiny. Will it be a slam dunk or a costly airball?
For the eleventh time, Senate Democrats voted against a Republican bill to end the government shutdown, which now enters its fourth week.
The vote was 50-43, with Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, a Democrat, and Maine Sen. Angus King, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, voting with Republicans to end the shutdown, the Hill reported.
Another Democrat who has routinely voted to end the government shutdown, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, did not vote Monday. Senator Rand Paul (Ky.) was the only Republican to vote "no."
Democrats under Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-Ny.) have refused to fund the government without a firm guarantee to permanently extend enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies that are expiring at year's end.
The Democrats also want to undo eligibility restrictions in Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act that exclude many non-citizens from receiving federal health benefits.
Lawmakers did not vote on the shutdown Tuesday as Republicans met with President Trump for a Senate lunch, where Trump insisted that Republicans won't be "extorted."
“I wanted to say from the beginning, our message has been very simple: We will not be extorted on this crazy plot of theirs. They’ve never done this before. Nobody has. You always vote for an extension,” Trump said.
“Chuck Schumer and the Senate Democrats need to vote for the clean, bipartisan CR and reopen our government. It’s got to be reopened right now,” he added.
Neither party has shown any sign of budging, as Democrats look to hammer a healthcare message heading into the 2026 midterms and Republicans refuse to play along with Schumer's hardball tactics.
Democrats say that unless the ACA subsidies are renewed, millions of Americans will be unable to afford their premiums. Critics take this as a tacit admission that Obamacare failed to deliver on its promise of affordable health care.
In any case, Republicans have said they are willing to negotiate the subsidies when the government is up and running. They have insisted that Democrats pass a "clean" resolution to fund the government for a few weeks, without any strings attached.
“It is truly amazing how a program Democrats created and tax credits that they chose to sunset have now become the Republicans’ crisis,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said in floor remarks. “Republicans, in fact, never had anything to do with it.”
“Democrats created ObamaCare — alone. They implemented the enhanced tax credits — alone. And they chose a sunset date for those tax credits — alone,” he continued.
“Democrats are solely — solely — responsible for the ObamaCare tax credit cliff, and yet they’re trying to pin this disaster on Republicans while at the very same time they’re asking Republicans to bail them out.”
The average price for a gallon of gas is below $3 across America for the first time in four years, giving consumers a sense of normalcy after costs surged in the Biden era.
The White House is touting the news as proof that President Trump has kept his promise to ease the cost-of-living, which became a major campaign issue in 2024. According to analysis from GasBuddy, the average gas price is now $2.98, having fallen 15 cents per gallon in one year.
This is the cheapest that gas has been since the 2020, when demand for gas collapsed during the COVID lockdowns.
"Gas prices have finally fallen below $3 per gallon nationally — the earliest date we’ve seen a $2.99 national average since 2020, when COVID was the primary driver of low prices,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy.
There's more good news to come, says De Haan: "Barring any major disruptions, gas prices are likely to remain slightly below year-ago levels and could stay under $3 for much of the next few months.”
Of course, prices vary widely based on location. At one station in Colorado, gas is under $2 per gallon. On the other hand, gas is the most expensive in California, where it costs an average of $4.60 per gallon.
Compare that to the state's all-time high of $6.437 for a gallon of regular unleaded in June 2022.
So, who deserves the credit for the current trade of lower prices?
GasBuddy isn't rushing to give Trump any: “OPEC+ deserves much of the credit for this trend, having steadily raised oil production for much of 2025," De Haan said.
Some analysts have linked increased oil production by OPEC+ to pressure from President Trump.
Even the anti-Trump New York Times has acknowledged that OPEC+ appears to be appeasing Trump by keeping oil prices low.
The Trump administration has attributed the drop in prices to Trump's emphasis on "energy dominance," an approach he summarized as "drill baby drill" on the campaign trail last year.
For Trump and his team, cheap gas is a simple and tangible achievement that shows Trump is keeping his promises to voters.
“President Trump understands that energy dominance is a key driver for growing our economy and lowering costs — making good on a promise he repeatedly made on the campaign trail after years of Biden-induced economic disaster. In fact, under Biden, average gas prices remained above $3 per gallon for nearly the entirety of his presidency,” the White House said in a press release.
Texas congressman Tony Gonzalez (R) has been accused of having an affair with a woman on his staff who died after setting herself on fire.
35-year-old Regina Aviles perished in the blaze at her Uvalde home in September. While Gonzalez has publicly mourned Aviles as a "kind soul," anonymous sources told the Daily Mail that their relationship ran deeper than he let on.
A Gonzalez spokesman "refused to deny the affair when repeatedly offered the opportunity by the Daily Mail," the outlet noted.
The timeline of the relationship was not made clear, but one source told the Daily Mail that it lasted "for some time" and that Aviles' husband, Adrian Aviles, knew about the affair at the time of her death.
A source told the Daily Mail that Aviles and her husband split after he learned about her affair, but they continued to raise their eight-year-old together.
Adrian, who runs a video surveillance business, had installed cameras at the home they once shared, the Mail noted.
Police used footage from the cameras to verify that Regina was alone when she poured gasoline on herself and burst into flames on September 13. She was airlifted to a hospital, where she died the next morning from her injuries.
Aviles' family has insisted that her death was accidental.
“The last thing she said is, ‘I don’t want to die,” her mother, Nora, told the San Antonio Express News.
The mother has also said that Aviles was distressed about her estranged husband spending the weekend with their son at the time she died.
Aviles had been the regional director for Gonzalez since 2021, and she was often seen with the Texas congressman, who represents a border district including San Antonio, Uvalde, and El Paso.
After Aviles' death, Gonzales, a married father of six, restricted press access at a research facility where he was scheduled to appear, according to KSAT-TV.
Sources told the Mail that Gonzalez also did not attend Aviles' funeral, and her mother, Nora, told the New York Post that she did not remember seeing him there, although she noted she was emotional and may have missed him.
Gonzalez's office released a furious statement that did not directly address the affair rumors, instead accusing "political bottom feeders" of exploiting Aviles' gruesome death.
“To see political bottom feeders distort the circumstances around her passing is truly sickening. Tony Gonzales remains laser-focused on delivering historic achievements for Texas and condemns any attempts to misuse this tragedy," the person said.
Meanwhile, Aviles' bereaved mother told the New York Post that the affair claims are "completely false."
"I don’t think it has any merit,” she said.
Chess great Daniel Naroditsky, who gained fame by offering online lessons and livestreams, has passed away at the age of 29, according to Fox News. The former World Junior Champion's family said that his death was "unexpected" and that no cause of death has been released to date.
The announcement came from his family on Oct. 20 that Naroditsky had died. The Charlotte Chess Center, where Naroditsky worked as an instructor, shared the statement from his family on X, formerly Twitter.
"The Naroditsky family shares the sad news of Daniel’s unexpected passing. Daniel was a talented chess player, educator, and beloved member of the chess community. We ask for privacy as the family grieves," the organization posted.
The Naroditsky family shares the sad news of Daniel’s unexpected passing. Daniel was a talented chess player, educator, and beloved member of the chess community. We ask for privacy as the family grieves. pic.twitter.com/otNdUxDKtL
— Charlotte Chess Center (@CLTchesscenter) October 20, 2025
The statement from Naroditsky's family expressed the depth of their grief and briefly eulogized him. "It is with great sadness that we share the unexpected passing of Daniel Naroditsky," the family wrote.
"Daniel was a talented chess player, commentator, and educator, and a cherished member of the chess community, admired and respected by fans and players around the world. He was also a loving son and brother, and a loyal friend to many," his family added.
The family then asked for privacy to grieve. Naroditsky, whose parents are Jewish immigrants from Azerbaijan and Ukraine, grew up in San Mateo County, California. He was a child chess prodigy, winning the Under-12 World Championship before eventually earning the title of Grandmaster at the age of 18.
At just 14 years old, Naroditsky penned Mastering Positional Chess, a book of game strategies, and was the youngest person to author such a chess manual. The young man would go on to bring chess into the online sphere and amassed a sizeable following on YouTube and Twitch with his popular livestreams.
His most recent accolades include clinching the top spot at the U.S. National Blitz Championship in August. He also notched a notable win in 2021 when he bested the World No. 2 and then-reigning U.S. Champion Fabiano Caruana.
According to People, Naroditsky's death came after the chess great was away from his streaming channels for a bit. In his final stream before his death, the chess great explained the reason for the hiatus and promised more content would be coming.
"You thought I was gone forever, but little do you know, I'm actually back and better than ever. I know that the episodes have been few and far between," Naroditsky told his more than half a million viewers.
"I've been sort of taking a kind of creative break, deciding future avenues of content. I won't delve too much into it now because I know everybody's excited for some chess games," he added.
Naroditsky didn't open up about the nature of the struggles he was having, but he did "like" several comments on the stream that encouraged him. One commenter wrote, "Look after yourself, mate, there is so much love for you out in the world!"
While there is still much unknown about Naroditsky's demise, the last stream perhaps gives a glimpse of what his frame of mind was. Regardless of the manner of his death, Naroditsky's fans and the entire chess world will grieve such a massive loss.
Actress Cheryl Hines said her husband, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., suggested they pretend to be separated during the contentious 2024 presidential election, The Hill reported. Hines said Kennedy, who is now the Secretary of Health and Human Services, worried that his wife would "take the heat" from the media and his opponents.
During the campaign, Kennedy initially ran to be the Democratic candidate beginning in April 2023. He was looking to unseat the incumbent then-President Joe Biden, but he received severe pushback from his own party.
By October 2023, Kennedy was running as an independent but would drop out of the race and join President Donald Trump's campaign with his agenda to make America healthy again. However, this pivot was not without its pitfalls, and one of them was how his wife would be treated.
"Some people were very upset that I was even married to Bobby. They were vocally coming at me because I’m married to Bobby. So Bobby felt like, ‘You shouldn’t be having to take that heat. So why don’t we just say we’re separated?’” Hines said in an interview with Fox News.
Hines was interviewed ahead of the November 11 release of her memoir Unscripted, where she shared about her marriage and the impact of the campaign. "What needed to happen — and what did happen — is we got closer together," Hines said.
"For a couple to say, ‘Maybe we should just say we’re not with each other anymore and our lives would be easier’ — it’s like, well, things have gotten to that point. That’s pretty dramatic and pretty extreme," the Curb Your Enthusiasm star later told Fox News.
"And that’s one of the reasons why I wanted to write the book … experiences that are very once in a lifetime," she added. It wasn't just political jousting or bad press that the couple had to worry about. In September 2023, a man with a gun pretending to be a U.S. Marshall was arrested in Los Angeles rally for Kennedy.
Given what some have called a family curse after Kennedy's father and uncle were assassianted, Hines was particularly concerned. "I was very fearful for his safety. As most people know, his uncle, John Kennedy, was assassinated. His father, Robert Kennedy, was assassinated while he was running for president," Hines recalled.
"So when Bobby ran for president, it was very stressful. For good reason. I mean, I saw somebody breaking into our house — watching him walk into the backyard — and I see the security guy coming at him with his weapon out. It’s 10:00 in the morning," she added.
The physical threats were bad enough, but Hines has also been subjected to vicious media attacks because of her marriage. Perhaps RFK Jr.'s instincts to protect his wife were spot on, considering the treatment on a recent episode of ABC's The View last week.
Co-host Sunny Hostin attempted to paint Robert Kennedy Jr. as unqualified for his spot in the HHS because he isn't a doctor, though, as Hines pointed out, neither were many of the others who have held the job. "Bobby’s background, everything I have seen him do, he has dedicated his career to suing big corporations because of toxins that are — have been affecting people’s healthcare, people’s health, I should say," Hines said of her husband.
Robert Kennedy Jr. has been at the forefront of environmental lawsuits, particularly in cases where the harmful consequences have been particularly severe. Hostin attempted to criticize Robert Kennedy Jr.'s vaccine skepticism, but Hines countered that her husband merely wants to remove harmful substances from food and medicine. "Even baby formula, we’re finding out there’s arsenic. There’s lead," Hines noted.
Being married to Robert Kennedy Jr. is no easy feat, considering the amount of hatred leveled at him from the people supposedly in his own party. He's also a member of Trump's administration, and that combination makes him and his family a target, no matter what his past politics were.
Republicans fought former President Joe Biden tooth and nail when he tried to institute student loan forgiveness plans during his administration, but now President Donald Trump has agreed to remove the pause on established programs that have been in place for years or decades.
Income-driven repayment plans cap the monthly loan amount at a percentage of the borrower's income, and usually forgive the loans after 20 or 25 years of consistent payments.
Trump had paused forgiveness under those plans earlier in the year to review them, and Education Secretary Linda McMahon had argued that the court order blocking Biden's Saving on a Valuable Education plan (SAVE) would allow them to stop offering loan forgiveness under the plans.
Despite this argument, Trump decided to restart them as part of an agreement with the American Federation of Teachers, which celebrated the move.
“This is a tremendous win for borrowers. With today’s filing, borrowers can rest a little easier,” legal counsel Winston Berkman-Breen said.
“The US Department of Education has agreed to follow the law and deliver congressionally mandated affordable payments and debt relief to hard-working public service workers across the country, and will do so under court supervision. We fully intend to hold them to their word.”
Under the agreement, borrowers who receive forgiveness will not owe taxes on the amount forgiven.
“The Biden Administration’s illegal attempts at mass student loan forgiveness impacted all of the Department’s income-driven repayment programs, including Income-Based Repayment. The courts intervened to stop their illegal efforts but that also impacted Department systems and prevented us from processing lawful loan discharges,” a spokesperson for the Department of Education told The Post in a statement.
“Thanks to the Trump Administration’s efforts to separate out the illegal loan cancellation schemes, we are able to process legitimate loan cancellations once again.”
The move is temporary, because Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill will be phasing out the programs by 2028 anyway.
But by agreeing to reverse the pause, Trump will settle the lawsuit by the AFT in March.
It makes sense because the borrowers were told they could access the program when they took the loans, so it doesn't seem fair to change the rules in the middle of the game.
Those paying under income-based repayment plans can end up owing far more than they originally borrowed because of interest over many years, so the forgiveness makes sense at some point.