New Analysis Shows 1-in-12 U.S. Adults Negatively Affected by Trump Education Policies; State Fact Sheets Highlight Millions Left Behind
May 14, 2025 | WASHINGTON, D.C. — Senator Elizabeth Warren’s spotlight forum “Stealing the American Dream: How Trump and Republicans Are Raising Education Costs for Families” will lay bare today the cost of the Trump Administration’s attacks on students and borrowers.
A new analysis prepared for this forum and released by the University of California’s Student Loan Law Initiative (UC SLLI) projects that 1-in-12 U.S. adults will be negatively affected by the Trump Administration’s actions in the student loan market—warning of broader harm to communities and the economy at large. The Student Borrower Protection Center (SBPC) simultaneously released new state-by-state fact sheets, setting the stakes for students and families.
This forum features testimony from sidelined former Education Department official Bonnie Latreille, education law scholar and law professor Jonathan Glater, veteran and student loan borrower Bonni Snider, and finance educator Tiffany Aliche. Their panel will describe the radical and harmful steps the Trump Administration has taken to sow chaos across the student loan system and the price paid by working families.
A full livestream and recording of the forum will be available here.
Getty photos of the forum are available here.
A copy of the new economic analysis released by the UC SLLI is available here.
Fifty-two state fact sheets outlining the stakes for students and families are available here.
Borrowers from across the country will fill the forum room, wearing black while carrying “Borrowers Not Billionaires” signs. Many more have already shared their stories, underscoring these witnesses’ testimony.
“President Trump’s attacks on the Department are putting education out of reach for all but an elite few,” said Bonnie Latreille, who served as student loan ombudsman at the U.S. Department of Education until she was sidelined by Trump Administration officials, in her prepared testimony. “These attacks are propping up a market of predatory companies that will leave Americans deeper in debt. These attacks are making the American Dream a pipe dream.”
“I say this as an American, as a taxpayer, as a veteran who proudly served this country—I believe we all must stand up and push back against these efforts to push the dream of a higher education further out of reach for working families all over this country, said Bonni Snider, a U.S. Army veteran and a student loan borrower, in her prepared testimony. “We must ensure education remains a pathway to the American Dream. This is the country I fought for. This is the country I know and love.”
“This is a cumulative effect of the changes implemented or proposed by the Trump Administration as well as Republicans in Congress: the lifting of the opportunity ladder out of reach of a greater number of students and their families,” said Jonathan Glater, a law professor at UC Berkeley and the co-director of the UC Student Loan Law Initiative, in his prepared testimony. “It is this overall impact that makes the title of this forum, ‘Stealing the American Dream,’ so apt… The overall result of all these policies is the entrenchment of inequality across multiple dimensions: class and race, of course, but also disability status and gender identity.”
“The Trump Administration’s efforts to attack access to higher education is an abandonment of America’s promise,” said Tiffany Aliche, finance educator and owner of The Budgetnista, in her prepared testimony. “It tells families like mine and those I work with, ‘If you want a higher education, then you’re on your own.’ I’m here today because I refuse to accept that. I’ve dedicated my career to being a helper, and I implore our leaders in the Administration and Congress to be helpers too.”
The state-by-state fact sheets underscore how the threat to critical student debt relief programs and federal financial aid poses a serious danger to students and families across the country. The newly released data includes the number of enrolled college students, Pell Grant recipients, older borrowers, Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) beneficiaries, federal student loan borrowers, borrowers in the SAVE plan, and approved Borrower Defense applications in each state, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico.
State Spotlights
- In Florida, there are 446,819 students relying on the Pell Grant
- In Ohio, 46,590 public service workers benefited from PSLF
- In Texas, there are 673,200 federal student loan borrowers age 50 and over
Further Reading
SBPC press release on Senate education forum led by Senator Murray on dismantling ED: Senate Democrats Spotlight Radical Effort to Decimate U.S. Department of Education in Forum, Condemn Chaos in Communities Across the Country
SBPC economic analysis of Republican budget reconciliation bill on borrowers: House Education and Workforce Republicans Unveil Legislative Plans to Deliver Massive Tax Cuts to Billionaires on the Backs of Students and Families with Student Loan Debt
Polling on dismantling ED and the student loan safety net: Overwhelming, Bipartisan Majority Reject Cuts to the Student Loan Safety Net and Financial Aid Students and Families Rely On
SBPC press release on Trump and McMahon’s Reductions in Force at ED: Trump and McMahon’s Mass Firing at ED Stokes Flames of Ongoing Chaos Campaign
SBPC press release on the PSLF Executive Order: Advocates Blast Trump Plans to Sign Executive Order to Weaponize Public Service Loan Forgiveness and Stifle Free Speech Across America
Previous 2025 statewide and congressional district fact sheets on the student loan debt crisis: www.protectborrowers.org/2025-statewide-congressional-district-factsheets-of-the-student-loan-debt-crisis/
Coalition letter on Trump’s plans to overhaul PSLF: Hundreds of Democracy, Labor, and Civil Rights Organizations Warn Trump Education Officials: Do Not “Weaponize PSLF”
SBPC blog explaining how millions of borrowers are heading towards a default cliff: Millions of Student Loan Borrowers Are Headed Towards A Default Cliff
SBPC blog on the harms of gutting the U.S. Department of Education and confirming Linda McMahon as the leader of the remnants: Critical Trump Administration Nominees Should Raise Major Red Flags for Working Families with Student Debt
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About Student Borrower Protection Center
Student Borrower Protection Center (SBPC) is a nonprofit organization focused on eliminating the burden of student debt for millions of Americans. We engage in advocacy, policymaking, and litigation strategy to rein in industry abuses, protect borrowers’ rights, and advance racial and economic justice.
Learn more at protectborrowers.org or follow SBPC on Twitter @theSBPC.