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AG Nessel Blocks Weaponization of Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program

LANSING – Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel released the following statement after a judge permanently blocked the Trump administration from denying loan forgiveness (PDF) to teachers, nurses, and other public servants whose employers are not aligned with the administration’s ideology:

“Public servants who give back to our communities deserve our support, not unlawful political retribution. I am relieved that the Court protected the Public Loan Forgiveness Program for our first responders, nurses, teachers, and government employees. This program keeps countless dedicated professionals in public service, supporting their communities and vital institutions, when they could otherwise pursue more lucrative opportunities in private sector employment. Their service is critical to state services, emergency response, educational opportunity, public access to healthcare, and so much more everywhere in our country. The White House was wrong to target these valuable employees and their employers over political and policy disagreements, and yet again my office has completely halted an illegal attack on Michigan from the federal administration.”

In November 2025, Attorney General Nessel joined a coalition of 22 other attorneys general in challenging a new rule from the U.S. Department of Education that unlawfully restricted eligibility for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, which allows government and nonprofit employees to have their federal student loans forgiven after ten years of qualifying public service. The rule, set to take effect today, would have given the administration the power to deem state governments, hospitals, schools, and nonprofit organizations ineligible for PSLF based on their support for immigrants, gender-affirming health care, or diversity programs.

Yesterday, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts granted the coalition’s motion for summary judgment, declaring the rule illegal and permanently blocking it from taking effect.

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