‘BROKEN SYSTEM’

Trump Student Loan Official to Resign, Call For Cancellation of Billions in Debts

A. Wayne Johnson proposes cancelling the entire student-loan balances of as many as 37 million borrowers.

One of the Trump administration's top education officials has announced his intention to quit, and endorsed the cancellation of $925 billion in existing students loans, according to the Wall Street Journal. A. Wayne Johnson was appointed chief operating officer of the Office of Federal Student Aid in 2017, and later became chief strategy and transformation officer in the department. Johnson reportedly called the student loan system “fundamentally broken,” and added: “We run through the process of putting this debt burden on somebody… but it rides on their credit files—it rides on their back—for decades ... The time has come for us to end and stop the insanity.” Johnson proposes forgiving up to $50,000 for anyone with federal student-loan debt, which would cancel the entire student-loan balances of as many as 37 million borrowers. Johnson is reportedly planning a bid for the Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Johnny Isakson, who is set to retire at the end of the year for health reasons.