{
  "data_version": "1",
  "schema": "https://whatledto.com/data",
  "id": "nicholas-kent",
  "name": "Nicholas Kent",
  "kind": "person",
  "url": "https://whatledto.com/who/nicholas-kent",
  "description": "",
  "same_as": [],
  "timelines": [
    {
      "slug": "student-loan-repayment-overhaul",
      "title": "Student Loans After SAVE: From the Court Block to the Repayment Assistance Plan",
      "url": "https://whatledto.com/events/student-loan-repayment-overhaul",
      "json": "https://whatledto.com/events/student-loan-repayment-overhaul.json",
      "role": "As Under Secretary, said institutions cannot benefit from taxpayer dollars while ignoring updated nonpayment-rate data.",
      "entries": 9,
      "updated_at": "2026-10-19T04:13:24.467271+00:00"
    }
  ],
  "entries": [
    {
      "timeline": "student-loan-repayment-overhaul",
      "id": 526,
      "url": "https://whatledto.com/events/student-loan-repayment-overhaul#n526",
      "date": "2026-06-18",
      "date_precision": "day",
      "title": "One-point interest rate cut for borrowers on auto pay, if they enroll by September 30",
      "summary": "To push borrowers into the new plans and back onto automatic payments, the department offered a 1 percentage point interest reduction from July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2028 for anyone enrolled in auto pay by September 30, 2026, up from the usual 0.25 point discount. It said auto-pay enrollment had fallen from more than 80 percent of borrowers in active repayment before the pandemic to 40 percent.",
      "type": "announcement",
      "entities": [
        "U.S. Department of Education",
        "Nicholas Kent"
      ],
      "parties": [
        "us-department-of-education",
        "nicholas-kent"
      ],
      "sources": [
        {
          "url": "https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-announces-student-loan-interest-rate-reduction",
          "outlet": "U.S. Department of Education",
          "published": "2026-06-18",
          "quote": "Today, the U.S. Department of Education (the Department) announced that federal student loan borrowers enrolled in auto pay will be eligible for a 1 percent interest rate reduction beginning July 1. Borrowers who enroll in auto pay by September 30, 2026, or who are already enrolled, will benefit from the interest rate reduction through June 30, 2028."
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "timeline": "student-loan-repayment-overhaul",
      "id": 525,
      "url": "https://whatledto.com/events/student-loan-repayment-overhaul#n525",
      "date": "2026-04-30",
      "date_precision": "day",
      "title": "Final RISE rule released, effective July 1 without the usual November-1 master-calendar wait",
      "summary": "The department published its final rule (in the Federal Register on May 1) eliminating Grad PLUS, setting the graduate and professional loan limits, creating the Repayment Assistance Plan and Tiered Standard plan and sunsetting the legacy plans. It asserted that Congress's explicit July 1, 2026 effective date overrode the Higher Education Act's master-calendar rule, a position lawyers flagged as a litigation risk.",
      "type": "regulatory",
      "entities": [
        "U.S. Department of Education",
        "Nicholas Kent"
      ],
      "parties": [
        "us-department-of-education",
        "nicholas-kent"
      ],
      "sources": [
        {
          "url": "https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-finalizes-landmark-rule-lower-college-costs-and-simplify-student-loan-repayment",
          "outlet": "U.S. Department of Education",
          "published": "2026-04-30",
          "quote": "Today, the U.S. Department of Education (the Department) released a final rule that will lower the cost of college and make student loan repayment easier, an important step toward implementing historic reforms contained in President Trump’s Working Families Tax Cuts Act (the Act). Beginning this summer, the Department will implement commonsense loan limits on how much students and parents can borrow, simplify the current patchwork of repayment options, establish a new, congressionally authorized income-driven repayment plan, and enforce other protections for students, families, borrowers, and taxpayers."
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "timeline": "student-loan-repayment-overhaul",
      "id": 524,
      "url": "https://whatledto.com/events/student-loan-repayment-overhaul#n524",
      "date": "2026-03-27",
      "date_precision": "day",
      "title": "7.5 million SAVE borrowers told to leave: 90-day windows from July 1, then automatic Standard-plan enrollment",
      "summary": "After the court entered final judgment, the department began sending guidance to every SAVE enrollee. From July 1 servicers would issue notices giving borrowers 90 days to choose a legal plan, including the new Repayment Assistance Plan; anyone who did not act would be placed in the Standard or Tiered Standard plan, typically with higher payments than an income-driven option.",
      "type": "announcement",
      "entities": [
        "U.S. Department of Education",
        "Nicholas Kent",
        "Federal Student Aid",
        "SAVE Plan"
      ],
      "parties": [
        "us-department-of-education",
        "nicholas-kent",
        "federal-student-aid",
        "save-plan"
      ],
      "sources": [
        {
          "url": "https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-announces-next-steps-borrowers-enrolled-unlawful-save-plan",
          "outlet": "U.S. Department of Education",
          "published": "2026-03-27",
          "quote": "Starting on July 1, federal loan servicers will begin issuing notices to borrowers, instructing them to exit the illegal SAVE Plan and enroll in a legal repayment plan within 90 days. Borrowers who do not transition plans within the 90-day period communicated by their servicer will be automatically enrolled into either the Standard Repayment Plan, or the new Tiered Standard Plan that will be available beginning July 1."
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "timeline": "student-loan-repayment-overhaul",
      "id": 520,
      "url": "https://whatledto.com/events/student-loan-repayment-overhaul#n520",
      "date": "2026-02-18",
      "date_precision": "day",
      "title": "Nonpayment data: more than 1,800 colleges have a quarter or more of borrowers not paying",
      "summary": "Alongside new default-management guidance, the department published updated institution-level nonpayment rates as an early warning for cohort default rates, which can cost a school its access to federal aid at 30 percent for three years or 40 percent in one. Under Secretary Nicholas Kent said institutions 'cannot benefit from taxpayer dollars while ignoring' the numbers.",
      "type": "report",
      "entities": [
        "U.S. Department of Education",
        "Nicholas Kent"
      ],
      "parties": [
        "us-department-of-education",
        "nicholas-kent"
      ],
      "sources": [
        {
          "url": "https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-urges-institutions-of-higher-education-implement-best-practices-reduce-default-rates",
          "outlet": "U.S. Department of Education",
          "published": "2026-02-18",
          "quote": "The Department also released updated nonpayment rates by institution, which may serve as an early indicator of whether a college or university may be at risk of failing the CDR measure. The new data show that over 1,800 institutions have nonpayment rates at or exceeding 25 percent."
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "timeline": "student-loan-repayment-overhaul",
      "id": 519,
      "url": "https://whatledto.com/events/student-loan-repayment-overhaul#n519",
      "date": "2026-01-29",
      "date_precision": "day",
      "title": "Proposed rule published: loan caps, program-level limits and the two new repayment plans",
      "summary": "The department issued its notice of proposed rulemaking to implement the law, with a 30-day comment window. Beyond the statutory caps it proposed letting colleges set program-level loan limits below the statutory maximums, and it carried the RISE committee's narrow professional-degree definition. The department later said it received 80,793 comments.",
      "type": "regulatory",
      "entities": [
        "U.S. Department of Education",
        "Nicholas Kent"
      ],
      "parties": [
        "us-department-of-education",
        "nicholas-kent"
      ],
      "sources": [
        {
          "url": "https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-issues-proposed-rule-make-higher-education-more-affordable-and-simplify-student-loan-repayment",
          "outlet": "U.S. Department of Education",
          "published": "2026-01-29",
          "quote": "The U.S. Department of Education (the Department) today issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) aimed at reducing the cost of higher education and simplifying federal student loan repayment, as outlined in President Trump’s historic Working Families Tax Cuts Act (the Act)."
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "timeline": "student-loan-repayment-overhaul",
      "id": 518,
      "url": "https://whatledto.com/events/student-loan-repayment-overhaul#n518",
      "date": "2026-01-16",
      "date_precision": "day",
      "title": "Wage garnishment and Treasury offsets delayed weeks after the first notices were due",
      "summary": "Having told defaulted borrowers in December that garnishment notices would start the week of January 7, the department reversed course and delayed all involuntary collection, both Administrative Wage Garnishment and the Treasury Offset Program, saying the new law's repayment plan and second-chance rehabilitation should be in place first. The delay ran into tax-refund season and was not given an end date.",
      "type": "announcement",
      "entities": [
        "U.S. Department of Education",
        "Nicholas Kent",
        "U.S. Department of the Treasury"
      ],
      "parties": [
        "us-department-of-education",
        "nicholas-kent",
        "us-department-of-the-treasury"
      ],
      "sources": [
        {
          "url": "https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-delays-involuntary-collections-amid-ongoing-student-loan-repayment-improvements",
          "outlet": "U.S. Department of Education",
          "published": "2026-01-16",
          "quote": "The U.S. Department of Education (the Department) today announced that it will delay the implementation of involuntary collections on federal student loans, including Administrative Wage Garnishment (AWG) and the Treasury Offset Program (TOP). The temporary delay will enable the Department to implement major student loan repayment reforms under the Working Families Tax Cuts Act (the Act) to give borrowers more options to repay their loans."
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "timeline": "student-loan-repayment-overhaul",
      "id": 517,
      "url": "https://whatledto.com/events/student-loan-repayment-overhaul#n517",
      "date": "2025-12-09",
      "date_precision": "day",
      "title": "Department and Missouri agree to end SAVE outright",
      "summary": "Rather than litigate to judgment, the department and Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway proposed a joint settlement under which the department would enroll no new borrowers in SAVE, deny pending applications and move all enrollees into other plans. The department put SAVE's ten-year cost at more than $342 billion and said more than seven million borrowers were still in the forbearance.",
      "type": "legal",
      "entities": [
        "U.S. Department of Education",
        "Missouri",
        "Nicholas Kent",
        "Catherine Hanaway",
        "SAVE Plan"
      ],
      "parties": [
        "us-department-of-education",
        "missouri",
        "nicholas-kent",
        "catherine-hanaway",
        "save-plan"
      ],
      "sources": [
        {
          "url": "https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-announces-agreement-missouri-end-biden-administrations-illegal-save-plan",
          "outlet": "U.S. Department of Education",
          "published": "2025-12-09",
          "quote": "As part of the proposed joint settlement agreement, the Department will not enroll any new borrowers in the illegal SAVE Plan, deny any pending applications, and move all SAVE borrowers into legal repayment plans."
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "timeline": "student-loan-repayment-overhaul",
      "id": 516,
      "url": "https://whatledto.com/events/student-loan-repayment-overhaul#n516",
      "date": "2025-11-06",
      "date_precision": "day",
      "title": "RISE negotiators reach consensus on the whole loan package, including who counts as a 'professional' student",
      "summary": "The RISE committee agreed on all 17 regulatory provisions implementing the law's loan changes: eliminating Grad PLUS, capping Parent PLUS, sunsetting the older repayment plans and creating the Repayment Assistance Plan. It also adopted a definition of professional degree drawn from existing regulatory text, the provision that would later be challenged in court.",
      "type": "regulatory",
      "entities": [
        "U.S. Department of Education",
        "Nicholas Kent"
      ],
      "parties": [
        "us-department-of-education",
        "nicholas-kent"
      ],
      "sources": [
        {
          "url": "https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-concludes-negotiated-rulemaking-session-implement-one-big-beautiful-bill-acts-loan-provisions",
          "outlet": "U.S. Department of Education",
          "published": "2025-11-06",
          "quote": "Today, the U.S. Department of Education (the Department) concluded its negotiated rulemaking session, where the Reimagining and Improving Student Education (RISE) Committee reached consensus on the entire package of federal student loan-related changes advanced by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA)."
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "timeline": "student-loan-repayment-overhaul",
      "id": 515,
      "url": "https://whatledto.com/events/student-loan-repayment-overhaul#n515",
      "date": "2025-10-30",
      "date_precision": "day",
      "title": "PSLF final rule lets the Secretary disqualify employers with a 'substantial illegal purpose'",
      "summary": "The department finalized a rule, effective July 1, 2026, amending the definition of a qualifying Public Service Loan Forgiveness employer to exclude organizations it finds engage in illegal activity such as supporting terrorism, aiding illegal immigration or providing gender-transition care to minors. It followed Executive Order 14235 of March 7, 2025, a July negotiated rulemaking and nearly 14,000 public comments.",
      "type": "regulatory",
      "entities": [
        "U.S. Department of Education",
        "Nicholas Kent",
        "Donald Trump"
      ],
      "parties": [
        "us-department-of-education",
        "nicholas-kent",
        "donald-trump"
      ],
      "sources": [
        {
          "url": "https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-announces-final-rule-public-service-loan-forgiveness-protect-american-taxpayers",
          "outlet": "U.S. Department of Education",
          "published": "2025-10-30",
          "quote": "The final rule amends the definition of “qualifying employer” to exclude organizations that engage in unlawful activities such that they have a substantial illegal purpose, including supporting terrorism and aiding and abetting illegal immigration."
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "often_with": [
    {
      "id": "donald-trump",
      "name": "Donald Trump",
      "url": "https://whatledto.com/who/donald-trump",
      "json": "https://whatledto.com/who/donald-trump.json",
      "shared_timelines": 1
    },
    {
      "id": "us-department-of-the-treasury",
      "name": "U.S. Department of the Treasury",
      "url": "https://whatledto.com/who/us-department-of-the-treasury",
      "json": "https://whatledto.com/who/us-department-of-the-treasury.json",
      "shared_timelines": 1
    },
    {
      "id": "anna-grunseth",
      "name": "Anna Grunseth",
      "url": "https://whatledto.com/who/anna-grunseth",
      "json": "https://whatledto.com/who/anna-grunseth.json",
      "shared_timelines": 1
    },
    {
      "id": "elizabeth-robeson",
      "name": "Elizabeth Robeson",
      "url": "https://whatledto.com/who/elizabeth-robeson",
      "json": "https://whatledto.com/who/elizabeth-robeson.json",
      "shared_timelines": 1
    },
    {
      "id": "heather-havens",
      "name": "Heather Havens",
      "url": "https://whatledto.com/who/heather-havens",
      "json": "https://whatledto.com/who/heather-havens.json",
      "shared_timelines": 1
    },
    {
      "id": "linda-mcmahon",
      "name": "Linda McMahon",
      "url": "https://whatledto.com/who/linda-mcmahon",
      "json": "https://whatledto.com/who/linda-mcmahon.json",
      "shared_timelines": 1
    },
    {
      "id": "scott-bessent",
      "name": "Scott Bessent",
      "url": "https://whatledto.com/who/scott-bessent",
      "json": "https://whatledto.com/who/scott-bessent.json",
      "shared_timelines": 1
    },
    {
      "id": "william-boykin",
      "name": "William Boykin",
      "url": "https://whatledto.com/who/william-boykin",
      "json": "https://whatledto.com/who/william-boykin.json",
      "shared_timelines": 1
    }
  ],
  "license": {
    "holder": "What Led To",
    "terms": "https://whatledto.com/methodology#reuse",
    "summary": "Quote entries with attribution and a link to the entry; do not republish whole timelines or train models on the text."
  }
}