“This is the latest example of the Trump Administration’s weaponization of the federal government to go after people it does not agree with, all the while betraying and eroding the very institutions that uphold our democracy,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said. “We’ll see the President in court.”
A coalition of 22 attorneys general have filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education, challenging a Trump administration decision to cut off Public Service Loan Forgiveness eligibility for certain recipients.
Together, the attorneys general claim that, if enforced, the Education Department’s rule would deem entire state governments, hospitals, schools, and nonprofit organizations ineligible for public Service Loan Forgiveness eligibility simply because they engage in work that the administration finds ideologically unappealing.
“Public Service Loan Forgiveness was created as a promise to teachers, nurses, firefighters, and social workers that their service to our communities would be honored,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a press release. “Instead, this administration has created a political loyalty test disguised as a regulation. It is unjust and unlawful to cut off loan forgiveness for hardworking Americans based on ideology. I will not let our federal government punish New York’s public servants for doing their jobs or standing up for our values.”
James’s office notes that the program, established by Congress in 2007, provides financial relief for college graduates and other student loan recipients who choose public service over other, potentially more lucrative careers.
“On October 31, ED finalized a new rule granting itself the power to unilaterally declare entire agencies or organizations ineligible for PSLF if the administration determines they have a “substantial illegal purpose,” a phrase that appears nowhere in the PSLF statute. The attorneys general highlight that the Department’s limited definition of such “illegality” aligns neatly with the administration’s political targets, including:
- Supporting immigrants;
- Providing gender affirming care;
- Promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion; and
- Engaging in political protest.
The rule, scheduled to take effect in July 2026, would effectively transform PSLF into a political weapon against states and causes the administration does not like by allowing the federal government to deem them to be “substantially illegal” whenever it chooses,” James’s office said.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta, a co-plaintiff in the lawsuit, emphasized that the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program as a bipartisan act of Congress under George W. Bush, a Republican president.
“Millions of Americans shaped their lives, made long-term career decisions, and took on deep financial burdens based on the promise that, if they dedicated their lives to public service and made student loan payments for 10 years, their government would support them. Now, the Trump Administration is pulling the rug from under hardworking Americans who absolutely deserve what they were promised,” Bonta said in a press release. “The Public Service Loan Forgiveness program is a Bush-era, bipartisan-backed effort that encourages generations of young people to build careers in public service. Make no mistake: This is the latest example of the Trump Administration’s weaponization of the federal government to go after people it does not agree with, all the while betraying and eroding the very institutions that uphold our democracy. We’ll see the President in court.”
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