Mississippi leads the nation with a 28.3% federal student loan default rate following the expiration of pandemic-era relief measures, according to a 2026 Associated Press analysis of federal data. National Default Surge Follows Pandemic Policy Shifts Nationwide, approximately…
Alex Thompson is a National Political Correspondent at Axios. He covers a range of topics including elections, government, politics, public policy, and security policy, often intertwining themes of competitive sports and law enforcement. Alex's work has been featured in prominent outlets such as POLITICO, Yahoo News, and The Atlantic, among others.