Two lawsuits have been filed against the Trump administration over its new rule limiting student loan forgiveness that plaintiffs argue illegally targets LGBTQ+ organizations. The rule states that employees of government or non-profit organizations that support communities and initiatives this administration dislikes will be cut off from the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program (PSLF), which is meant to provide student loan relief to people who work in public service, both in government and in non-profit organizations. Related Mike Johnson falsely says Democrats demand millions for LGBTQ+ Balkans to end the shutdown As part of the announcement, Under Secretary of Education Nicholas Kent made it clear that organizations supporting trans people were a target of the new rule: The Public Service Loan Forgiveness program was meant to support Americans who dedicate their careers to public service not to subsidize organizations that violate the law, whether by harboring illegal immigrants or performing prohibited medical procedures that attempt to transition children away from their biological sex.A group of 22 states filed one of the lawsuits on Monday, which accuses the rule of weaponizing the Department of Education as a roving enforcer of the Administrations animus by stripping PSLF eligibility from employers whose actions it dislikes. Never Miss a Beat Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights. Subscribe to our Newsletter today It emphasizes that the statute establishing the program provides no grounds for the Department to create exceptions to PSLF eligibility. The complaint also slams the overbroad and impermissibly vague language of the rule, which states it will target entities acting with substantial illegal purpose. We're suing the U.S. Department of Education for weaponizing the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.This administration is trying to illegally cut off loan forgiveness eligibility for organizations and governments based off ideals it doesn't agree with.I'm fighting back. NY AG James (@NewYorkStateAG) November 3, 2025This phrase, the lawsuit states, is itself pretextual and aimed only at chilling activities that are disfavored by this Administration.Public service should never be weaponized for political games, said out Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes (D) in a press release announcing the lawsuit. This rule undermines the very spirit of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program and threatens workers who dedicate their careers to public service. Im proud to join my fellow attorneys general in suing to block it.Washington state Attorney General Nick Brown (D) explained in a video that the program is meant to help people like nurses, teachers, and firefighters, and said the new rule will make it harder for people to pursue careers that serve the public.Giving back to the community is a good thing that should be encouraged, he said in a press release. But now, once again, the administration is showing just how little regard it has for the people who keep our cities and states running. AG Brown and 21 other attorneys general are suing the U.S. Department of Education for unlawfully restricting eligibility for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, which allows government and nonprofit employees to apply to have their federal student loans forgiven after pic.twitter.com/BKvYwYVi5c Attorney General Nick Brown (@AGOWA) November 3, 2025The second lawsuit is led by the National Council of Nonprofits and also includes labor unions, nonprofit organizations, and cities, such as Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, and Albuquerque. The complaint argues that the new rule violates the Higher Education Act, which says nonprofit and government employees are eligible for PSLF.Diane Yentel, president and CEO of the National Council of Nonprofits, said in a statement that contrary to law, the regulation allows current and future administrations to change PSLF eligibility according to their priorities or ideology, inviting government overreach and abuse and creating instability that will undermine the programs success. This must not stand.Under Secretary of Education Nicholas Kent claimed in his own statement that the department would apply the rule neutrally. He called it unconscionable that the plaintiffs are standing up for criminal activity.This is a commonsense reform that will stop taxpayer dollars from subsidizing organizations involved in terrorism, child trafficking, and transgender procedures that are doing irreversible harm to children, he said. More lawsuits against the rule are likely coming, Politico reports. Donald Trump initially signalled his intention to overhaul the PSLF program back in March when he issued the executive order Restoring Public Service Loan Forgiveness. The order claimed that the Biden administration had abused the program and denigrated non-profits by suggesting that the program could push students into organizations that hide under the umbrella of a non-profit designation and degrade our national interest, thus requiring additional Federal funding to correct the negative societal effects caused by these organizations federally subsidized wrongdoing.The order directed Secretary of EducationLinda McMahonto define public service to exclude organizations that he disagrees with or that have a substantial illegal purpose. His examples included language that echoes his rhetoric against the trans community: child abuse, including the chemical and surgical castration or mutilation of children or the trafficking of children to so-called transgender sanctuary States for purposes of emancipation from their lawful parents, in violation of applicable law. Theyll also target organizations with a pattern of aiding and abetting illegal discrimination, which has been the same language used to suggest that supporting trans children is in violation of Title IX or that diversity, inclusion, and equity (DEI) programs discriminate against dominant groups like white people and men.That executive order was a list of Trumps demands for new policies. Thefinal rule rolled outby the ED last week represents the first implementation of those demands as actual policy.The PSLF program was created under Republican President George W. Bush in 2007 as a result of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act. Graduates who worked in approved government or non-profit jobs could have their loans forgiven after making 120 qualifying payments over a span of 10 years. The PSLF program was designed to encourage graduates to take jobs in needed fields and to support communities in the United States by providing economic stability through the forgiveness of student loans, even when high-paying jobs werent always available.Trumps order and the EDs new rule have been criticized as a political move to attack certain groups, rather than an attempt to improve the program in any way.This rule is simply about bullying LGBTQ+ people and nonprofits and other progressive groups and making life more difficult for those whoDonaldTrumpdislikes, senior legal writer for the Human Rights Campaign, Luis Vasquez, toldThe Advocate. The result is that it would keep talented people from pursuing careers in public service, fearing that they may suddenly lose eligibility for this program on a whim.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.