Trump administration drops appeal of student loan forgiveness ruling

The program requires 10 years of service and qualifying payments

The Trump administration dropped its appeal on Wednesday of a ruling that blocked an executive-order change to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. UPI reported that the administration offered no explanation for ending the appeal.

The program allows people who work in public service or for nonprofits for 10 years and make loan payments for 10 years to have their federal loans forgiven. Congress started the program in 2007 under President George W. Bush. It was designed to encourage college graduates to enter fields such as teaching and social work.

President Trump signed an executive order in March 2025 that excluded organizations that support “illegal immigration, child trafficking, pervasive damage to public property and disruption of the public order.” The administration sought to make forgiveness based on ideology, according to UPI.

In November, 21 states sued the Department of Education over the change, and advocacy groups filed a separate lawsuit against the department. The lawsuits challenged the administration’s effort to add the executive-order exclusions to the loan-forgiveness program.

In July, a judge blocked the order in the states’ case and said the government could not implement the change. The administration initially appealed. It then dropped the appeal on Wednesday without offering an 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. This is a significant victory for millions of Americans who have dedicated their careers to public service,” Student Defense chief counsel Dan Zibel said.

In July, Under Secretary of Education Nicholas Kent said the department stood behind its “commonsense policy.” He said, “The Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program is intended to support Americans who serve the public good, not to subsidize organizations that engage in terrorism, facilitate illegal immigration or support the mutilation of children.” UPI’s report did not identify any further action by the department after the appeal was dropped.

As MSI previously reported, a judge blocked the administration’s effort to add ideology-based exclusions to the loan-forgiveness program; the administration initially appealed and has now dropped that appeal without an explanation.