Trump administration drops appeals over public-service loan rule
Source published: Oct 22, 2026 · 12:59 AM EDT · Event: 2026-10-21
The Trump administration dropped two appeals of federal judgments that vacated its revised eligibility rule for Public Service Loan Forgiveness. Associated Press reported that the Justice Department and opposing parties filed single-sentence joint agreements on October 21 dismissing the appeals with each side paying its own fees. The Washington Post reported that the dismissals leave the existing PSLF rules intact.
Response / context
The administration gave no public explanation for ending the two appeals in the reporting reviewed by the Ledger. The revised rule would have allowed the education secretary to exclude employers from PSLF if the department determined that their work had a 'substantial illegal purpose,' including specified activities involving immigration, gender-transition care for minors and diversity programs. In June, federal judges in Massachusetts and Washington vacated the rule, finding that the department exceeded its authority and, in the Massachusetts case, threatened First Amendment protections. Dropping an appeal is not a new merits ruling and does not erase the June judgments; it leaves those judgments undisturbed.
Dates and scope
Source publication: Oct 22, 2026 · 12:59 AM EDT
Event or conduct: 2026-10-21. The Justice Department filed two one-sentence joint dismissal agreements on October 21. Associated Press and The Washington Post published reports that day. The Ledger reviewed both reports and the plaintiffs' June case update at 12:59 a.m. EDT on October 22. The appellate dismissal filings were not accessible through the reviewed public-record tools, so the description of their text and filing is attributed to AP and The Washington Post.
Dated report. Publication, event and review times are different; the review time is when the sources were last checked, not a live update.
This brief preserves the available response and disposition. Coverage is non-exhaustive. How we review sources.
Read the original sources
- Associated Press: Trump administration drops legal fight to overhaul student loan forgiveness program ↗
October 21 report describing the two joint dismissal agreements, the administration's lack of public explanation and the June judgments
- The Washington Post: DOJ drops fight to put Trump's restrictions on public service loan forgiveness ↗
Independent October 21 report confirming dismissal of the two appeals and explaining that existing PSLF rules remain intact
- Student Defense: Court Strikes Down the Department of Education's Rule Restricting Public Service Loan Forgiveness Eligibility ↗
Plaintiffs' June 30 case update linking the Washington judgment and describing the rule and the plaintiffs' legal position; not an independent source
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