Trump Directs Education Department to Cancel Student Loan Debt of Disabled Veterans

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP announced Wednesday that he's directing the Department of Education to wipe out student loan debt for disabled veterans, an effort that's been pushed by attorneys general in nearly all 50 states. At the American Veterans national convention in Louisville, Kentucky, Trump signed a presidential memorandum that will "entirely erase" their student debt, a right for "totally and permanently" disabled veterans under federal law. The Trump administration currently requires disabled veterans to fill out paperwork to be eligible for student debt forgiveness. Trump added that there will be no federal income tax on the forgiven debts. He was joined in Kentucky by Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, whom he said made this issue a top priority. Back in May, attorneys general in 47 states as well as in Washington, D.C., and other U.S. territories wrote a letter to DeVos urging her to automatically cancel their debt and alleviate them from an application process, according to Politico. "I'm taking executive action to ensure that our wounded warriors are not saddled with mountains of student debt," Trump said Wednesday, adding that he's "directing the Department of Education to eliminate every penny of federal student loan debt owed by American veterans who are completely and permanently disabled."