Student loan payments were paused twice during the Trump administration, but the reasons and scope differed
President Trump did not halt student loans through a single action. Instead, two separate pauses occurred. The first was a temporary pause on federal student loan payments in March 2020, ordered as part of the economic response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This pause lasted through the end of his presidency in January 2021. The second pause — the broader one most people refer to — began in August 2022 under President Biden and was blocked by courts in late 2023. The confusion often arises because people conflate these two events or misremember the timeline.
During the March 2020 pause, borrowers with federal student loans did not have to make payments, and interest did not accrue. This applied to Direct Loans, Federal Family Education Loans (FFEL), and Perkins Loans held by the Department of Education. Private student loans were not affected. The pause was meant to provide relief during widespread job loss and economic uncertainty.
Key Takeaways
- A payment pause on federal student loans began in March 2020 under Trump as a COVID-19 response and lasted through January 2021.
- Interest did not accrue during the 2020 pause, meaning your loan balance did not grow even though you were not making payments.
- The pause applied only to federal loans held by the Department of Education, not to private student loans or loans held by other agencies.
- A separate, much larger pause began in August 2022 under President Biden and was later blocked by federal courts.
What the 2020 pause actually covered
The March 2020 pause affected borrowers with federal student loans in all repayment statuses. If you were in income-driven repayment, standard repayment, graduated repayment, or extended repayment, your payments stopped. If you were in default, the pause still applied to you. If you were in deferment or forbearance, the pause did not change your status, but if you were already not paying, you continued not to pay.
The pause did not forgive any debt. It simply stopped the requirement to pay and stopped interest from accruing. When the pause ended in January 2021, borrowers were expected to resume payments. However, the Biden administration extended the pause multiple times, which is where the larger policy debate occurred.
Why the confusion with the Biden-era pause
In August 2022, President Biden announced a plan to pause federal student loan payments through the end of 2022 and to forgive up to $20,000 in debt for Pell Grant recipients and up to $10,000 for other borrowers. This was a much broader action than the 2020 pause. The forgiveness plan faced immediate legal challenges, and in November 2023, the Supreme Court blocked it. Payments resumed in October 2023.
Because the 2020 pause and the 2022 pause both involved stopping payments, and because both were framed as COVID-related relief, many people conflate them or assume they were part of the same policy. They were not. The 2020 pause was a temporary measure during an acute crisis. The 2022 action was a permanent forgiveness program that did not survive legal review.
How the 2020 pause affected your loan balance
If you had federal student loans during the March 2020 pause, your principal balance did not change. Interest that would normally have accrued was not added to your loan. This meant that when payments resumed, you owed exactly what you owed before the pause began — no more.
This was different from a forbearance, where interest typically continues to accrue and is added to your balance later. The 2020 pause was a true pause: no payments, no interest growth, no change to what you owed.
Which loans were not covered by the 2020 pause
Private student loans were not paused. If you borrowed from a bank, credit union, or private lender, your payments continued as scheduled. Parent PLUS loans held by the Department of Education were covered, but PLUS loans from private lenders were not.
Loans held by the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Defense, or other federal agencies were not covered by the pause. If you had a Perkins Loan held by your school rather than by the Department of Education, the pause may not have applied — this depended on your school's policy.
What happened when the 2020 pause ended
The 2020 pause ended on January 31, 2021, as scheduled. Borrowers were expected to resume payments in February 2021. However, the Biden administration extended the pause multiple times over the following months, citing ongoing economic hardship from the pandemic. These extensions kept payments paused through September 2023, when the Supreme Court blocked the forgiveness plan and ordered payments to resume in October 2023.
If you did not make payments during any of these pauses — whether the 2020 pause or the later extensions — those months did not count against you for loan forgiveness programs that depend on payment history, such as Public Service Loan Forgiveness. The Department of Education granted credit for the pause period.
How to find out what happened to your specific loans
Log into your account at studentaid.gov to see the status of your federal student loans. The site shows your loan type, current balance, interest rate, and repayment status. If you have questions about what happened to your loans during the pause, you can contact your loan servicer directly — the servicer's name and phone number appear on your studentaid.gov account.
If you have private student loans, log into your lender's website or call the number on your loan statement. Private lenders did not participate in the 2020 pause, so if you have private loans, your payment history during that period may be different from your federal loan history.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did Trump forgive student loans?
No. Trump paused payments and interest accrual in March 2020, but did not forgive any debt. Borrowers still owed the same amount when the pause ended. The forgiveness plan most people associate with student loan relief was announced by President Biden in August 2022 and was blocked by courts in November 2023.
If I didn't pay during the 2020 pause, does that hurt my credit?
No. The pause was an official government action, and not paying during the pause did not count as a missed payment or default. Your credit report should not show any negative mark for the pause period. If it does, contact your loan servicer to request a correction.
Do I get credit toward Public Service Loan Forgiveness for months during the pause?
Yes. The Department of Education granted credit for the pause period toward PSLF and other forgiveness programs that count may have access to payments. You do not need to make payments during the pause for those months to count.
What if my private student loans were paused by my lender?
Some private lenders offered voluntary pauses during the pandemic, but this was not required and varied by lender. Check your loan statements from 2020 and 2021 to see what your lender did. If you have questions, contact your lender directly.
Are federal student loan payments paused now?
As of October 2023, federal student loan payments resumed after the Supreme Court blocked the Biden administration's forgiveness plan. Borrowers are expected to make regular payments according to their repayment plan. Check studentaid.gov for your current payment status and due date.