Trump administration drops legal fight over student loan forgiveness overhaul
The US Department of Justice has dropped two appeals against June court rulings that blocked the Trump administration's overhaul of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness programme, in single-sentence agreements with no explanation.
The Trump administration moved on Wednesday to end its legal fight to overhaul a popular student loan forgiveness programme, dropping two appeals against June court rulings that had favoured advocates.
The Department of Justice had appealed after federal judges ruled in favour of campaigners who warned the Public Service Loan Forgiveness programme risked becoming a tool for political retribution. Instead, it dropped both appeals in single-sentence joint agreements under which each side pays its own fees, offering no explanation for the retreat (https://www.kcau9.com/news/politics/ap-trump-administration-drops-legal-fight-to-overhaul-student-loan-forgiveness-program/).
Last autumn, the administration wrote a new rule empowering Education Secretary Linda McMahon to kick employers out of PSLF if she decides their work has a “substantial illegal purpose”. The vaguely phrased rule targeted employers who support undocumented immigrants or transgender youth, potentially affecting borrowers working at schools, public hospitals and legal-aid groups (https://www.gulfnews.com/world/americas/trump-administration-drops-legal-fight-to-overhaul-student-loan-forgiveness-program-1.500719121).
PSLF forgives student loans for qualifying public-service employees — in government, public schools, fire and police departments, public hospitals and nonprofits — after a decade’s worth of payments. The overhaul amounted to a major reworking of a programme that has cancelled loans for more than 1 million Americans.
Advocates celebrated. “The Trump administration’s attempt to weaponize public service loan forgiveness against organizations it disagrees with was anti-democratic and unlawful from the start,” Dan Zibel, an attorney for Student Defense, said in a written statement. “This is a significant victory for millions of Americans who have dedicated their careers to public service” (https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/world-news/trump-administration-drops-legal-fight-to-overhaul-student-loan-forgiveness-programme/articleshow/135104619.cms).
More on this topic: all Politics stories
