Story perspectives

Trump Cuts SAVE, Defaults Surge to 9.5 Million, Mississippi Leads

7/20/2026

Summary

Story summary

U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration eliminated the SAVE income-driven repayment plan, raising monthly payments for millions of borrowers.
After the pandemic payment pause ended in June 2025, borrowers in default rose from 5.3 million to 9.5 million.
Mississippi now records the nation’s highest student-loan default rate at 28.3 %.
Defaulted loans total $233.3 billion of the $1.7 trillion federal student-loan portfolio.
Borrowers from for-profit colleges have a 33 % delinquency rate, twice that of public-school borrowers.

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Story summary

U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration eliminated the SAVE income-driven repayment plan, raising monthly payments for millions of borrowers.
After the pandemic payment pause ended in June 2025, borrowers in default rose from 5.3 million to 9.5 million.
Mississippi now records the nation’s highest student-loan default rate at 28.3 %.
Defaulted loans total $233.3 billion of the $1.7 trillion federal student-loan portfolio.
Borrowers from for-profit colleges have a 33 % delinquency rate, twice that of public-school borrowers.