Trump pauses student loan collection, closes U.S.-Mexico border amid coronavirus crisis
President Trump enacted a series of strong measures on Friday meant to combat the spread of the new coronavirus and curb the economic downfall it has brought about.
In a Friday press conference, Trump announced that the U.S. Department of Education would waive interest on student loans and that borrowers could suspend loan payments for at least 60 days "without penalty." Borrowers would have to reach out to their lenders on their own to initiate that pause, Trump added.
Trump also announced that the U.S. and Mexico had mutually agreed to close their shared border to all nonessential travel. A similar agreement to close the U.S.-Canada border goes into effect Friday night.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
And, as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said he asked Trump to do in a call this morning, the president announced he would invoke the Defense Production Act to produce much-needed medical supplies. The Korean War-era act will let Trump order manufacturers to start producing ventilators and other necessary goods.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
Political cartoons for November 7Cartoons Friday’s political cartoons include a party at Mar-a-Lago, a handy chart for ICE, the Republican train wreck and Nancy Pelosi's retirement
-
Trump ordered to fully fund SNAPSpeed Read The Justice Department is appealing the decision
-
Judge issues injunction on DHS use of forceSpeed Read Agents can only use force under the ‘immediate threat of physical harm’
-
Warner Bros. explores sale amid Paramount bidsSpeed Read The media giant, home to HBO and DC Studios, has received interest from multiple buying parties
-
Gold tops $4K per ounce, signaling financial uneaseSpeed Read Investors are worried about President Donald Trump’s trade war
-
Electronic Arts to go private in record $55B dealspeed read The video game giant is behind ‘The Sims’ and ‘Madden NFL’
-
New York court tosses Trump's $500M fraud fineSpeed Read A divided appeals court threw out a hefty penalty against President Trump for fraudulently inflating his wealth
-
Trump said to seek government stake in IntelSpeed Read The president and Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan reportedly discussed the proposal at a recent meeting
-
US to take 15% cut of AI chip sales to ChinaSpeed Read Nvidia and AMD will pay the Trump administration 15% of their revenue from selling artificial intelligence chips to China
-
NFL gets ESPN stake in deal with DisneySpeed Read The deal gives the NFL a 10% stake in Disney's ESPN sports empire and gives ESPN ownership of NFL Network
-
Samsung to make Tesla chips in $16.5B dealSpeed Read Tesla has signed a deal to get its next-generation chips from Samsung
