Republican who oversaw student debt launches class action effort against Trump administration

Bryant Willis
Thu, 06 Nov 2025 11:00:00 -0500

CNBC

By Annie Nova
Published Fri, Oct 31 202511:10 AM EDT Updated Fri, Oct 31 20254:47 PM EDT

Key Points

Education Secretary Linda McMahon and the largest credit rating companies are wrongfully damaging millions of student loan borrowers’ finances, a new proposed class action lawsuit says.

The Trump administration has reported borrowers as late to the credit rating companies while it lacks “operational capabilities” to handle the accounts of more than 40 million Americans, said Wayne Johnson, who headed the country’s $1.6 trillion education debt portfolio during President Donald Trump’s first term.

A Republican who oversaw the country’s $1.6 trillion federal student loan portfolio during President Donald Trump’s first term has funded a class action effort against the administration over its current borrower policies.