Trump admin abandons legal fight over student loan forgiveness program overhaul

The Justice Department has given up its court battle over a Trump administration plan to rework Public Service Loan Forgiveness, the program that cancels remaining student debt for government, school, hospital, emergency-services and nonprofit workers after ten years of payments. More than 1 million Americans use it. On Wednesday, government lawyers withdrew two appeals through one-sentence joint filings, with both sides covering their own legal costs. Officials gave no reason, according to The Independent.

The proposed rule, drafted last autumn, would have let Education Secretary Linda McMahon cut off employers whose activities she considered to have a "substantial illegal purpose." The language was imprecise, and the targets were groups that assist undocumented immigrants or transgender youth, putting at risk borrowers employed by schools, public hospitals and legal aid organizations. Critics said it could become a vehicle for political punishment.

Judge Myong Joun in Massachusetts threw out the changes before their planned July start, finding that the department exceeded its authority and endangered free speech rights. His decision came in suits brought by over 20 states, cities and nonprofits. Judge Amir Ali in Washington reached a comparable result the same day in a separate case brought by nonprofits.

Summarized by PolitiKool from The Independent’s reporting. Read the full story at The Independent →