Trump administration agrees to turn over documents on student debt relief under threat of subpoena – The Washington Post
Under threat of a subpoena, the Trump administration agreed Thursday to provide House Education and Labor Committee Chairman Rep. Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-Va.) documents detailing the Education Department’s handling of student debt relief claims.
Committee aides say Scott had already signed the subpoena and alerted the department when he received word that information he asked for a year ago was en route.
“We will closely review the documents we are receiving to ensure that they are responsive to the questions we have asked and provide the clarity that students deserve,” Scott said in a statement Thursday. “We look forward to discussing this information at a hearing with the Secretary in the near future.”
The request centers on the Trump administration’s adherence to a 1995 law, known as borrower defense to repayment, that protects students who are defrauded by their colleges. Hundreds of thousands of people who attended primarily for-profit colleges have applied for debt forgiveness under the law but have yet to learn whether their claims will be approved. The Trump administration has not taken action on any applications in a year, citing ongoing litigation from former Corinthian Colleges students.