Trump admin ends Biden's free ride: 5+ million deadbeat student loan borrowers to face collections



President Donald Trump's Department of Education announced Monday that it will soon end the former Biden administration's free ride for student loan borrowers in default.

The ED's Office of Federal Student Aid will restart collections on May 5 for more than five million borrowers who have not made a payment for at least 360 days. Another four million borrowers — not yet considered to be in default — have not paid in 91 to 180 days.

"As a result, there could be almost 10 million borrowers in default in a few months. When this happens, almost 25 percent of the federal student loan portfolio will be in default," read a press release from the ED.

'The Biden Administration misled borrowers: the executive branch does not have the constitutional authority to wipe debt away, nor do the loan balances simply disappear.'

According to the department, 42.7 million student loan borrowers owe over $1.6 trillion. It noted that most borrowers are either delinquent or in an interest-free forbearance or deferment period.

"Only 38 percent of borrowers are in repayment and current on their student loans," it said. "Resuming collections protects taxpayers from shouldering the cost of federal student loans that borrowers willingly undertook to finance their postsecondary education."

The department has not collected on its defaulted student loans since March 2020, despite Congress mandating repayment in October 2023.

Trump's ED slammed the former administration for its refusal to lift the pause on collections, which "kept borrowers in a confusing limbo."

It further noted that under former President Joe Biden, the ED "failed to process applications for borrowers who applied for income-driven repayment and continued to push misguided 'on-ramps' and illegal loan forgiveness schemes to win points with borrowers and mask rising delinquency and default rates."

Over the next couple of weeks, the FSA will notify those currently in default about the payment restart. It will begin sending notifications of wage garnishments "later this summer," the department stated.

ED Secretary Linda McMahon said, "American taxpayers will no longer be forced to serve as collateral for irresponsible student loan policies."

"The Biden Administration misled borrowers: the executive branch does not have the constitutional authority to wipe debt away, nor do the loan balances simply disappear," she continued. "Hundreds of billions have already been transferred to taxpayers. Going forward, the Department of Education, in conjunction with the Department of Treasury, will shepherd the student loan program responsibly and according to the law, which means helping borrowers return to repayment—both for the sake of their own financial health and our nation's economic outlook."

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Trump to slam border shut with vast buoy wall, tightening grip on illegal crossing chaos



President Donald Trump's administration is gearing up to clamp down further on illegal crossings from Mexico by installing floating buoy barriers in the Rio Grande.

The Washington Examiner reported Wednesday that the Trump administration plans to place a 17-mile-long buoy wall in the Rio Grande Valley in Texas.

'Gov. Abbott deployed them soon after and proved that they were very effective.'

Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R), under former President Joe Biden in 2023, installed the state's own buoy barriers to curb the nation's illegal immigration crisis, particularly in the highly trafficked Eagle Pass area. The interconnected inflatable sphere buoys were four feet wide and acted as a floating fence that, when grabbed, would spin to prevent illegal aliens from being able to climb over.

It was the first time such a deterrent had been deployed along the U.S.-Mexico border, and the move faced legal challenges from the Biden administration's Department of Justice. The lawsuit claimed that Texas violated federal law by failing to obtain authorization to install the barrier. It also argued that the buoys created both environmental and safety concerns.

Trump's DOJ is expected to drop the case against Texas over its buoy wall.

According to the Washington Examiner, the first Trump administration's Border Patrol initially developed the idea of installing floating barriers. However, it never did so due to the administration change.

After former Border Patrol agent Mike Banks was hired as Texas' border czar, the state rolled out the plan independently. Banks is now the national Border Patrol chief.

The Washington Examiner reported that Texas wants to gift its 1,000-foot barrier to the Trump administration.

Selene Rodriguez with the Texas Public Policy Foundation told the news outlet that the state's implementation of the buoy wall proved effective at deterring illegal crossings.

"Left to fend for ourselves, Texas found innovative solutions to secure our border and support our law enforcement," Rodriguez stated. "The buoy barrier was a necessary measure that proved further action can be taken, and we are happy to see that measure now taken by the Trump administration."

Border czar Tom Homan told the Washington Examiner that the floating wall is "a great border barrier concept."

"[Border Patrol] was studying their use at the end of Trump 45 and thought they were an excellent method to secure the border and save lives," Homan said. "They were not deployed because the administration changed hands. Gov. Abbott deployed them soon after and proved that they were very effective. Border barriers such as walls and buoys work. The data proves it."

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Trump’s DOT left to clean up Biden admin's $43 billion grant fiasco



The Trump administration’s Department of Transportation revealed that it inherited an “unprecedented backlog of grants” left by the Biden administration.

In late March, the DOT’s Federal Highway Administration reported that Secretary Sean Duffy had finalized a $221 million federal grant to rebuild Rhode Island’s Washington Bridge — its westbound side has been closed since December 2023 following a “critical failure.” The funding for the project was initially announced in the fall of 2024, but the Biden administration “failed to sign the agreement.”

‘Under the Trump administration, we’ve ripped out this red tape and are getting back to what matters.’

The DOT’s announcement noted that "the Trump administration inherited roughly 3,200 unobligated grants that had been promoted by the previous administration but never fulfilled.”

Duffy stated, “Since coming into office, my team has discovered an unprecedented backlog of grants leftover from the previous administration.”

He slammed “ridiculous DEI and Green New Deal requirements” for preventing “real infrastructure from being built and funded.”

“Under the Trump administration, we’ve ripped out this red tape and are getting back to what matters. As part of our work to deliver real results, we are pleased to announce $221 million in grants for Rhode Island’s Washington Bridge — a critical link that carries thousands of vehicles a day,” Duffy declared.

A DOT spokesperson told Fox News Digital that the backlogs totaled $43 billion. After Trump won the election but before he took office, the Biden administration reportedly announced $9 billion worth of grants to 1,000 recipients that were not made official before Biden departed.

“Nothing was done to actually get these grant agreements signed and sent to projects,” the DOT spokesperson stated.

During the April 10 Cabinet meeting, Duffy told President Donald Trump about the previous administration’s massive grant backlog.

“The last administration announced 3,200 projects, big, beautiful roads and bridges — most of them are good. But they announced them — they didn’t sign a grant agreement,” he explained. “So the money doesn’t go out the door to build the infrastructure in the country. And it’s fun to do an announcement. It’s actually the harder work to put together these grant agreements.”

Duffy noted how the Biden administration included “green and social justice requirements.”

“We’re pulling all that out and putting the money toward the infrastructure, not the social movement from the last administration,” he said.

Trump responded, “Good steel, right? As opposed to green papier-mache.”

On Monday, Duffy announced that the DOT had saved taxpayers $63.9 million by terminating a grant between the Federal Railroad Administration and Amtrak to build a high-speed rail project in Texas.

Duffy called the project “a waste of taxpayer funds and a distraction from Amtrak’s core mission of improving its existing subpar services.”

“If the private sector believes this project is feasible, they should carry the pre-construction work forward, rather than relying on Amtrak and the American taxpayer to bail them out. My department will continue to look for every opportunity to save federal dollars and prioritize efficiencies,” Duffy said.

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Trump revokes parole for 6,300 foreign nationals on terrorist watchlist or with criminal past



The Department of Government Efficiency announced Thursday that it discovered the former Biden administration paroled 6,300 foreign nationals who were either on the terrorist watchlist or had a criminal history.

The Trump administration has reportedly pulled their parole as a result of the DOGE's findings.

'Among these 6.3k paroled aliens with criminal or terrorist records (all have a social security number).'

Further, of the 6,300 foreign nationals, 905 received Medicaid, and 41 collected unemployment insurance — benefits totaling $318,000. Additionally, 22 individuals took out $280,000 in federal student loans. In 2024, 409 received $751,000 worth of tax refunds.

The DOGE also reported that some of the foreign nationals collected food stamp benefits, though the final number has not yet been determined.

The department indicated that there could be more individuals who were paroled despite being on the FBI's Terrorist Screen Center watchlist or having a criminal past.

The department detailed its findings in a post on social media.

"Under the Biden administration, it was routine for Border Patrol to admit aliens into the United States with no legal status and minimal screening. So far, [Customs and Border Protection] identified a subset of 6.3k individuals paroled into the United States since 2023 on the FBI's Terrorist Screening Center watchlist or with criminal records," the DOGE wrote. "These paroles have since been terminated with immediate effect."

"Despite having no other legal status, paroled aliens are able to file for work authorization and receive social security numbers. Among these 6.3k paroled aliens with criminal or terrorist records (all have a social security number)," the DOGE added.

— (@)

A White House official confirmed to the Daily Caller that the Trump administration had revoked parole for the 6,300 foreign nationals.

The administration has also moved to yank parole for foreign nationals admitted into the country through several of the Biden administration's programs.

Earlier this week, the Trump administration announced that those who entered the U.S. under the CBP One app — approximately 985,000 — would have their parole revoked.

A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told Politico, "Under federal law, Secretary [Kristi] Noem — in support of the president — has full authority to revoke parole. Canceling these paroles is a promise kept to the American people to secure our borders and protect national security."

The administration previously attempted to pull deportation shields for those enrolled in the CHNV parole program, which allowed 30,000 individuals per month from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela to enter the U.S.

Those enlisted in the program, approximately 500,000, are scheduled to lose their protected status on April 24. However, on Thursday, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani halted Trump's move to end the program.

"The nub of the problem here is that the secretary, in cutting short the parole period afforded to these individuals, has to have a reasoned decision," Talwani claimed. "There was a deal and now that deal has been undercut."

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Trump admin ousts NSA director in agency shake-up: Report



President Donald Trump’s administration on Thursday fired the director of the National Security Agency, Gen. Timothy Haugh, according to a report from the Washington Post.

Haugh’s civilian deputy, Wendy Noble, was reportedly removed from her position and reassigned a job with the Department of Defense’s Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security.

'This is called VETTING.'

The Post also stated that “at least five” National Security Council officials were terminated on Thursday.

The White House has not yet confirmed the reported firings, and therefore, the reasoning for the alleged actions is unclear.

However, Trump stated that he had ousted “some” NSC staffers, the Associated Press reported.

“Always we’re letting go of people,” Trump stated Thursday. “People that we don’t like or people that we don’t think can do the job or people that may have loyalties to somebody else.”

According to the AP, at least three terminated employees were “senior NSC officials” and the others were “lower-ranking aides.”

Pro-Trump activist Laura Loomer appeared to take credit for the alleged shake-up in a post on X, claiming that Haugh and Noble were removed because they were “disloyal” to the president.

She criticized Haugh as a “Biden appointee,” who was “HAND PICKED” by now-retired U.S. Army Gen. Mark Milley.

Loomer stated that Haugh was “referred for firing” as well as “his Obama loving protege, Wendy Noble.”

“This is called VETTING,” she declared.

Loomer reportedly advocated for the firings during a recent meeting with Trump.

“Thank you President Trump for being receptive to the vetting materials provided to you and thank you for firing these Biden holdovers,” she stated.

Following her meeting with the president, Trump told reporters, “Laura Loomer is a very good patriot. She’s a very strong person.”

“She makes recommendations of things or people, and sometimes I listen to those recommendations,” he stated.

Trump stated that during their meeting, Loomer “recommended certain people for jobs.”

He stated that Loomer had nothing to do with the fired NSC staffers.

However, in a separate post on X, Loomer appeared also to claim credit for those terminations.

“You know how you know the NSC officials I reported to President Trump are disloyal people who have played a role in sabotaging Donald Trump?” she wrote. “Because the fired officials are being defended by... Jen Psaki & Andrew McCabe on MSNBC & CNN RIGHT NOW.”

The White House did not respond to requests for comment from the Washington Post or the New York Post. The NSA referred the New York Post to the DOD, which also did not respond.

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Judge permanently drops corruption case against NYC Mayor Eric Adams



U.S. District Judge Dale E. Ho on Wednesday dropped the federal corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D).

In September, under former President Joe Biden, the Southern District of New York charged Adams with a five-count indictment, accusing him of bribery and fraud. It claimed that Adams received $100,000 in illegal campaign contributions and other luxury travel perks from a Turkish official.

Adams pleaded not guilty.

'The case against Eric Adams should have never been brought in the first place — and finally today that case is gone forever.'

Democrats appeared to turn on Adams after he called out the Biden administration for fueling the nation’s immigration crisis, which put excessive strain on the sanctuary city’s resources. The corruption charges were filed soon after Adams criticized the administration. Some of Adams’ closest staffers also became the target of similar investigations.

In February, President Donald Trump’s Justice Department moved to dismiss the case against Adams, which sparked rumors from the mayor’s critics that the mayor and Trump had engaged in a quid pro quo. The Trump administration and Adams have both denied the claims, insisting instead that the mayor, like the president, was a victim of the left’s lawfare.

Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, who previously represented Trump in his New York criminal case, argued that the indictments against Adams should be dismissed “based on well-founded concerns regarding weaponization, election interference, and the impediments that the case has imposed on Mayor Adams’ ability to govern and cooperate with federal law enforcement to keep New York City safe.”

In his 78-page decision to dismiss the case with prejudice, Ho wrote, “To be clear, the Court again emphasizes that it does not express any opinion as to the merits of the case or whether the prosecution of Mayor Adams ‘should’ move forward.”

“The Court notes only that it has no authority to require that it continue,” he stated. “Ultimately, because the decision to discontinue a prosecution belongs primarily to a political branch of government, it is the public’s judgment, and not this Court’s, that truly matters.”

Alex Spiro, Adams’ attorney, told Fox News, “The case against Eric Adams should have never been brought in the first place — and finally today that case is gone forever.”

“From Day 1, the mayor has maintained his innocence and now justice for Eric Adams and New Yorkers has prevailed,” he added.

Adams is now free to turn his attention to his re-election campaign, where he faces several Democratic challengers, including disgraced former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.

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Zeldin closes Biden’s climate museum over massive taxpayer waste



Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin on Monday announced the closure of the $4 million agency museum built by the Biden administration.

Zeldin referred to the one-room, 1,595-square-foot facility as one of former President Joe Biden's failed "pet projects," noting that during its nine months of operations, it saw fewer than 2,000 external visitors.

'The museum closure represents just one step in our broader commitment to transparency and fiscal responsibility.'

While admission was free to the public, he stated that each visitor cost taxpayers $315.

The museum is located at the EPA's Washington, D.C., headquarters and opened in May 2024. Despite its small size, the facility cost $4 million to open and costs another $600,000 annually.

Zeldin shared a video on X giving a tour of the museum and explaining the decision to shut it down.

He stated that a timeline featured in the museum "conveniently omits" President Donald Trump's first administration. A separate video showed a gap in the timeline between 2014 and 2021.

"This agency has been spending $123,000 on cleaning, $207,000 for security, $54,000 on maintenance, and an additional $54,000 on storage," Zeldin said. "From May 2024 through last month, only 1,909 members of the public visited the museum. Even though it is free admission, this museum costs you, the taxpayer, $315 per external visitor."

He described it as a "shrine to [environmental justice] and climate change."

"Under President Trump, we are ending the practice of burning tax dollars on pet projects," Zeldin declared.

In a Monday op-ed on Fox News, Zeldin stated that he has terminated Biden-era spending that will save taxpayers $22 billion.

Zeldin noted that the money allocated toward the "scarcely visited" museum could have been used by the Biden administration to provide "clean air, land, and water to forgotten communities."

"The museum closure represents just one step in our broader commitment to transparency and fiscal responsibility," Zeldin wrote. "This isn't about diminishing our commitment to environmental protection; it's about enhancing it through responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars. The days of unchecked spending on monuments to the egos of the left are over. Under our leadership, fiscal responsibility and mission focus will guide every decision. The American people deserve nothing less."

Additionally, Zeldin announced on Tuesday that the EPA would be moving out of its D.C. headquarters.

"EPA will be saving American taxpayers $18 MILLION in annual lease costs by moving staff out of the 323,000 square feet of space we occupy in the Ronald Reagan building in D.C.," he stated.

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Millions of noncitizens received SSNs — and some even voted: Musk



During a Sunday evening town hall in Wisconsin, Elon Musk revealed that more than 4.8 million noncitizens have been given Social Security numbers since fiscal year 2021.

Musk explained that Antonio Gracias, the founder and CEO of Valor Equity Partners, has been assisting the federal government with reducing waste and fraud within the Social Security Administration. He noted that the Department of Government Efficiency previously found 20 million deceased individuals marked alive in the agency’s database.

'It was a massive large-scale program to import as many illegals as possible, ultimately to change the entire voting map of the United States and disenfranchise the American people and make it a permanent, deep-blue one-party state from which there would be no escape.'

Gracias joined Musk on stage to share a shocking chart showing a breakdown of the number of noncitizens who received SSNs under the Biden administration: 270,425 in fiscal year 2021; 590,193 in 2022; 964,163 in 2023; 2,095,247 in 2024; and 900,649 in 2025 so far.

“When we saw these numbers, we were like, ‘What is this?’” Gracias stated. “This literally blew us away.”

Musk called the chart “mind-blowing.”

“We went there to find fraud, and we found this by accident,” Gracias remarked. “This is not political. This is about America and the future of America.”

He explained how the Biden administration made it possible for millions of noncitizens to obtain SSNs.

“When you come in the country, if you’re illegal, there’s a couple ways to come in. You can come in through a port of entry, and you can tell them [Border Patrol agents] that you’re afraid, and they’ll give you an asylum case,” Gracias continued. “Another way to do it is to just go to the border. … You walk up to a Border Patrol officer, and you tell them you want to come in. They have a couple of choices: They could charge you with a misdemeanor or felony under 1325, or they can make it an administrative offense, like a parking ticket basically.”

Gracias stated that under Biden, officers at the border were instructed to issue administrative offenses, which allowed foreign nationals to pour into the country and stay while they await years-out court dates to review their immigration status. During that waiting period, some could apply for work authorization, which would prompt the SSA to send SSNs through the mail.

“No interview. No ID,” he said.

Musk added, “People sometimes think that under the Biden administration, he [former President Joe Biden] was simply asleep at the switch. They weren’t asleep as the switch. It was a massive large-scale program to import as many illegals as possible, ultimately to change the entire voting map of the United States and disenfranchise the American people and make it a permanent, deep-blue one-party state from which there would be no escape.”

Gracias supported Musk’s claims.

“If I hadn’t seen this myself, I’m not sure I would have believed it,” he said. “Elon is right. This is true. The defaults in the system, from Social Security to all of the benefit programs, have been set to max inclusion, max pay for these people — and minimum collection.”

Gracias stated that 1.3 million of the noncitizens who had received SSNs were also receiving Medicaid.

“What was really, really disturbing us was why,” he continued. “And so we actually just took a sample and looked at voter registration records, and we found people here registered to vote.”

“And who did vote,” Musk remarked.

Gracias stated that those individuals have been referred for prosecution.

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Trump combats child trafficking with new rules after Biden admin lost 320K migrant kids



The Trump administration is moving to fix the gaps in the current unaccompanied minor sponsorship program that contributed to former President Joe Biden's administration losing track of 320,000 migrant children.

According to a Tuesday Federal Register notice, the Department of Health and Human Services has updated its Unaccompanied Children Program Foundational Rule to comply with statutory requirements.

HHS 'will no longer be complicit in endangering the lives of children by allowing adults to exploit our immigration system.'

When children enter the U.S. without a parent or guardian, they are turned over to HHS' Office of Refugee Resettlement. The agency is responsible for placing the minors in homes by finding and vetting U.S.-based sponsors who may or may not be related to them.

Gaps in the program contributed to the Biden administration losing track of 320,000 unaccompanied minors placed with sponsors. A disturbing August 2024 report from the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General found that the federal government could not monitor the children's location or status.

Tuesday's Federal Register notice stated that the new interim final rule removes a provision that previously prohibited the ORR from "shar[ing] any immigration status information relating to potential sponsors with any law enforcement or immigration related entity at any time."

The Trump administration contended that the provision conflicted with federal statute.

"Accordingly, the information-sharing provision of the Foundational Rule must be removed," it declared.

At the time the previous provision was adopted, commenters expressed concerns that placing children with unrelated sponsors would lead to trafficking and exploitation.

The ORR countered that safe placements were a top priority, claiming that sponsors are "thoroughly vetted." Critics, including HHS whistleblowers, have long blasted the prior administration's vetting as rushed, claiming it often skimped on thoroughness to place children quickly.

Additionally, the administration's update will enable the ORR to reject a sponsor based on immigration status, reversing a prior policy that barred disqualification solely on that basis.

"Consistent with its statutory responsibilities, ORR must, among other things, conduct safety and suitability assessments of potential sponsors for the child," it read. "As explained in the preamble to the Foundational Rule, in the process of vetting potential sponsors for unaccompanied alien children, the potential sponsor's immigration status is one factor that bears on the potential sponsor's suitability to care for the child."

An HHS spokesperson told the New York Post that the agency "will no longer be complicit in endangering the lives of children by allowing adults to exploit our immigration system."

"For too long, individuals have arranged for children to be smuggled in the United States, knowing they will be released to an adult, often without adequate vetting, creating a dangerous incentive that puts vulnerable young children at risk," the official stated.

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Supreme Court Upholds Biden Admin Restriction On ‘Ghost Guns’

'Permits ATF to regulate'