A progressive magazines attempt to portray President Donald Trumps education policy as an assault on students choices has instead highlighted how far the left will go to shield failing academic programs from basic accountability.
In July, The New Republic ran a piece headlined Trump Moves to Cut Off Student Loans for Tons of Degrees, later amplifying the claim on social media, according to Western Journal. The outlet cast a federal effort to protect students and taxpayers from low-value degrees as an attack on those whose work is important regardless of salary, suggesting that emotional satisfaction, not economic reality, should guide federal lending policy.
In its repost on X, The New Republic went even further, alleging that President Donald Trump was banning students majoring in degrees that dont make enough money from taking out college loans. The post insisted that degrees for social work, art, religious studies, teaching aides, and music will be hit the hardest, implying a sweeping ideological crackdown rather than a targeted response to programs that routinely leave graduates buried in debt and underemployed.
The Department of Education, now operating under Trumps second administration, answered on Monday with an unambiguous rebuke, calling the report fake news at its finest. The agency stressed the obvious constitutional and legal limits on federal power in higher education, stating, First off, were not banning any program. The federal government doesnt set curriculum or programs.
Instead, officials explained that the policy is rooted in basic fairness and fiscal responsibility: Heres the truth: we are holding colleges accountable for leaving students worse off than if they never enrolled. Too many graduates report delaying major life milestones like buying a home or starting a family, they added. The department then spelled out the core problem that progressive critics prefer to ignore: Why? Because low return-on-investment programs saddled them with unmanageable debt that was never going to translate into a real-world job.
From a conservative standpoint, the departments stance reflects a long-overdue correction to an academic culture that treats federal loans as a bottomless subsidy for any program, no matter how weak its outcomes. As the agency put it, federal student loans are not a welfare program for failing college programs. It further emphasized that American students deserve education and training pathways that prepare them for the workforce and transparency about programs that will never pay off.
The New Republics narrative did not just collide with the Department of Education; it also ran afoul of Xs Community Notes fact-checking system. A note appended to the post clarified, No one is banned from majoring in what they want but student loans are cut off if graduates make less than someone without a college degree. The note underscored the policys intent, adding, Its designed to keep colleges from profiting off of low-value programs.
In a twist that underscores the ideological inconsistency of much of the left-wing media, the Community Note pointed out that The New Republic praised a very similar move by Obama. It linked to a 2014 article titled Obama Is Cracking Down on For-Profit Colleges And Liberals Should Applaud Him for It, revealing that what was once celebrated under a Democratic president is now condemned when pursued by President Trump, even though the underlying principleprotecting students from predatory, low-return programsremains the same.
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