WASHINGTON — The Trump administration moved Wednesday to end its legal fight to overhaul a popular student loan forgiveness program, according to The Associated Press.
The Department of Justice had appealed after federal judges ruled in June for advocates who said the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program risked becoming a tool for political retribution. On Wednesday, it dropped two appeals in single-sentence joint agreements. Each side will pay its own fees.
Federal officials provided no explanation.
“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 the group Student Defense, said in a written statement, “This is a significant victory for millions of Americans who have dedicated their careers to public service.”
The program was designed to make jobs in government, public schools, fire and police departments, public hospitals and nonprofits more attractive. It forgives loans for qualified employees after a decade of payments, and it has canceled loans for more than 1 million Americans.
Last fall, the administration wrote a new rule. It would have let Education Secretary Linda McMahon kick employers out of the program if she decided their work had a “substantial illegal purpose.”
The rule was targeted at employers who support undocumented immigrants or transgender youth, according to The Associated Press. Borrowers who worked at schools, public hospitals and legal aid groups could have been affected.
Just before the rule was set to take effect in July, U.S. District Judge Myong Joun in Massachusetts vacated the Education Department’s changes. He said they overstepped the agency’s power and threatened to violate First Amendment protections for free speech.
The ruling answered lawsuits filed by more than 20 states, along with a coalition of nonprofit groups and cities. On the same day, District Judge Amir Ali in Washington issued a similar ruling in a case brought by nonprofit organizations.
A third appeal is still pending in the First Circuit Court of Appeals, but legal experts expect it to be dropped as well, Inside Higher Ed reported.
Zibel told Inside Higher Ed his sense was that the longer the administration looked at the case, the more it realized it was not going to get a different result on appeal. For now, he said, the limits on the program are dead.
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