The Trump administration will restart wage garnishments for federal student loan borrowers in default beginning the week of January 7, marking the first time since early in the pandemic that the federal government will withhold paychecks to recover unpaid student loan balances, according to a report in The Washington Post.
The Education Department told the Post that roughly 1,000 borrowers will receive garnishment notices in the first wave, with additional batches expected each month. The agency’s latest data shows 5.3 million borrowers had gone at least 360 days without a payment as of June 30, many of whom entered default before collections were paused nearly six years ago.
The return of wage garnishment follows the administration’s decision in May to resume seizing tax refunds and Social Security benefits for past-due student loan debt. At the time, officials said wage withholding would restart in the summer, but delays, including what agency spokesperson Ellen Keast called the “record-long government shutdown” pushed implementation into 2026.
Restarting the system required verifying employer information and reactivating processes that had been idle for half a decade. By law, borrowers must receive 30 days’ notice before garnishment begins, during which they may challenge the action, pay the balance, or negotiate repayment terms. The government can withhold up to 15% of a borrower’s disposable income, continuing until the debt is fully repaid or the borrower exits default.
The policy shift lands as delinquencies rise sharply. An Urban Institute analysis cited by the Post found 6 million borrowers were at least 60 days late on payments as of August, an uptick tied to the end of the Biden administration’s “on-ramp” period on September 30. Millions who fall further behind could ultimately enter default and be subject to collections.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon has criticized the prior administration’s approach, saying Biden’s policies “misled borrowers” by fostering expectations of broad loan forgiveness. She framed the return of involuntary collections as part of an effort to restore repayment discipline for the sake of borrowers’ financial health and the broader economy.
