President Trump directed the changes to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program in a March 2025 executive order.
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Less than 24 hours before the government’s rule to limit access to Public Service Loan Forgiveness was to take effect, a district court judge ruled it unlawful.
In a ruling on Tuesday, Judge Myong J. Joun of the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts said the Trump administration’s plans to limit the loan forgiveness program are “arbitrary and capricious and [violate] the First Amendment.”
In March of last year, President Trump issued an executive order to exclude employees of public organizations that conduct “illegal activities” from the PSLF program. In its final rule implementing the order, the Department of Education said those activities include aiding and abetting violations of immigration or civil rights law, supporting terrorism, providing gender-affirming care, or “trafficking” children from one state to another for purposes of emancipation.
