The Public Service Loan Forgiveness program could be jeopardized by Trump's victory.

• The future of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program is uncertain with the potential return of former President Donald Trump.
• Here's what borrowers should know.

The re-election of former President Donald Trump may jeopardize a widely used student loan forgiveness program.

In his first term, Trump advocated for the abolition of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. Since then, Project 2025, a collection of proposals from The Heritage Foundation and over 100 conservative groups, has also supported the elimination of PSLF.

The federal student loan cancellation program, signed into law by President George W. Bush in 2007, applies to certain not-for-profit and government employees after a decade of payments.

The Biden administration relaxed its requirements and overhauled how it manages the program, which was once plagued by problems and made people who received debt forgiveness a rarity.

Over 1 million individuals have had their student debt forgiven under PSLF since President Biden assumed office, compared to the previous 7,000 individuals who were eligible before.

What might occur to the program with Trump's return to the White House?

Current borrowers should remain entitled to relief

Betsy Mayotte, president of The Institute of Student Loan Advisors, stated that borrowers are entitled to relief while the program is in effect.

"Mayotte advised against panicking, stating that PSLF is legally enshrined in federal law, signed into law by a Republican president, and would require an act of Congress to abolish it."

The Senate is currently under Republican control, while the House outcome is still uncertain, with many races remaining too close to determine.

Even if both chambers are under GOP control, it's not clear that all Republicans want it gone, according to Mayotte.

Credit card users are paying off last year's holiday debt, while holiday shoppers plan to spend more and take on debt. In 5 cardholders, a credit card has been maxed out or nearly reached its limit.

But what if they do vote to do away with the program?

"It wouldn't be retroactive," Mayotte said.

The loan forgiveness program would still be available to current borrowers.

Mayotte stated that in the worst-case scenario, loans made after the date of the law's enactment would be affected.

Mark Kantrowitz, a higher education expert, concurred that this is likely how the change would unfold.

"Kantrowitz stated that new borrowers would most likely be subject to the change, while existing borrowers would be exempt."

CNBC did not receive an immediate response from the Trump campaign when requested a comment.

What borrowers can do

To ensure eligibility for PSLF relief, borrowers should search for qualifying employers using the PSLF help tool and access the employer certification form at StudentAid.gov.

Kantrowitz said that confirming that you're working in an eligible job and generating an updated tally of how many qualifying payments you've made will be done by rewriting the input sentence into an alternative version.

To get your remaining debt excused, you need to fill out the form at least once a year and keep records of your confirmed qualifying payments.