The Trump administration is no longer able to politicize the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, thanks to AFSCME.  

The administration has abandoned its plan to appeal a judgment that AFSCME, local governments, and other organizations won in June protecting PSLF. 

The final victory stops a new rule that would have allowed the secretary of Education to disqualify government and nonprofit employers that disagree with the administration’s policies from participating in PSLF, which supports borrowers working in public service jobs. 

“The Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program was created so public service workers can pursue careers serving their communities without being burdened with debilitating debt,” said AFSCME President Patrick Moran. “Countless essential workers rely on this program, and weaponizing it for political purposes would hurt not just these workers but the communities they serve. We’re glad the administration is now following the law and abandoning this illegal scheme.” 

Earlier this year, a federal court ordered the Trump-Vance administration to stop its unlawful rewriting of the PSLF program as a way of silencing nonprofit organizations and local governments whose work runs counter to the administration’s political agenda. The government had filed an appeal of the ruling. But on Wednesday, the administration submitted a joint stipulation of dismissal, which will formally end the matter and ensure the new rule will never take effect. 

The decision is a major win for public service workers and the First Amendment protection of the organizations where they work. 

PSLF encourages people to pursue careers in public service with the promise of having the balance of workers’ federal direct student loans forgiven after 10 years of repayments.    

Thanks in part to AFSCME’s efforts to improve and protect PSLF, more than 1 million public service workers have had their loans forgiven.    

Plaintiffs in the case include AFSCME, the American Federation of Teachers, the National Education Association several cities and counties, immigrant and human rights organizations, and social service groups.  

Read the opinion that decided the case here and learn more about the case here.