Taxpayers stuck paying off student loans for nonprofits’ employees: ‘It’s about who you work for’

U.S. taxpayers are paying off the student loans of those who go to work for nonprofits, even nonprofits one wouldn’t consider a charity, or whose mission doesn't align with many taxpayers' values. 

The Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program allows those who work for a U.S. federal, state, local, tribal government, the military, or qualifying nonprofit organizations to have their student loans forgiven after making 120 qualifying payments.

“Qualifying employment for PSLF isn’t about the specific job that you do for your employer—it’s about who you work for,” the PSLF website says. While many taxpayers might agree with providing the benefit to accept military service, public safety, health and disability work, or even early childhood education as public service, the PSLF program allows those at many radical organizations designated as tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3)s to have their student loans forgiven.

Employees of groups with ties to terrorists are allowed to be taxpayer funded

This includes States United Democracy Center, which Just The News previously reported has been working with Democratic attorneys general across the country to prosecute President Donald Trump’s supporters.

Dompet Dhuafa USA employees are also eligible for student loan forgiveness. Dompet’s main organization has apparent ties to designated terrorist groups, Just The News previously reported, including openly calling Hamas “freedom fighters” immediately after the Oct. 7, 2023, atrocities in Israel.

The PSLF website says for-profit organizations, labor unions, and “partisan political organizations” are ineligible for the program, but the “partisan” label only applies to groups formally affiliated with a political party or one designed to support a political candidate or party policies, normally designated by the Internal Revenue Service as 501(c)(4). This means that employees at the Center for American Progress, a known left-leaning organization, with a 501(c)(3) status can benefit from the program. 

Conversely, conservatives at the right-leaning Heritage Foundation can also benefit. The Heritage Foundation itself is registered as a 501(c)(3) research and educational think tank. However, it operates alongside its designated 501(c)(4) "social welfare" and political advocacy sister organization, Heritage Action for America.

750,000 borrowers received debt relief under Biden rule changes

The PSLF was established in 2007 and signed by President George W. Bush. The first group of borrowers to be eligible for the program came about in 2017, but strict rules ensured all but a tiny fraction were denied debt forgiveness. Then, during the Biden-Harris administration, temporary waivers were issued to allow borrowers to receive credit for loan payments that weren’t typically eligible for the program. In December 2024, the Department of Education announced that nearly 750,000 borrowers received debt relief through the PSLF, NPR reported. 

In late 2025, the Trump administration’s Department of Education limited who can be defined as a “qualifying employer,” excluding organizations “that engage in unlawful activities such that they have a substantial illegal purpose, including supporting terrorism and aiding and abetting illegal immigration.”

“Taxpayer funds should never directly or indirectly subsidize illegal activity. The Public Service Loan Forgiveness program was meant to support Americans who dedicate their careers to public service – not to subsidize organizations that violate the law, whether by harboring illegal immigrants or performing prohibited medical procedures that attempt to transition children away from their biological sex,” Under Secretary of Education Nicholas Kent said when the rule was announced. 

Focusing on those deserving debt relief

“With this new rule, the Trump Administration is refocusing the PSLF program to ensure federal benefits go to our Nation’s teachers, first responders, and civil servants who tirelessly serve their communities.”

A Just The News investigation of the PSLF website has found that nearly any 501(c)(3) organization qualifies, despite the Trump administration’s attempts to refocus the program.