NOTE: The Maryland Office of the Attorney General shared the following press release:
BALTIMORE – Attorney General Anthony G. Brown announced that a judge permanently blocked the Trump administration from denying loan forgiveness to teachers, nurses, and other public servants whose employers are not aligned with the administration’s ideology.
In November 2025, Attorney General Brown joined a coalition of attorneys general in challenging a new rule from the U.S. Department of Education (ED) that unlawfully restricted eligibility for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. 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 solely on their support for policies the administration disfavors, such as immigrants’ rights, gender-affirming healthcare, or diversity programs – improperly allowing the administration to weaponize the PSLF program.
The PSLF program, established by Congress in 2007, provides financial incentives to those who dedicate their careers to the service of others. The program forgives borrowers’ remaining federal student loan debt after ten years of qualifying public service and consistent payments. Over the years, PSLF has enabled more than one million public servants to pursue careers that might have otherwise been out of reach. For Maryland and other state governments, PSLF is a critical tool to recruit and retain qualified professionals in vital fields like education, healthcare, and law enforcement.
In the lawsuit, Attorney General Brown and the coalition argued that the PSLF statute guarantees loan forgiveness for anyone who works full-time in qualifying public service; it does not grant ED discretion to carve out exceptions based on ideology. Yesterday, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts granted the coalition’s motion for summary judgment, declaring the rule unlawful and permanently blocking it from taking effect.
Joining Attorney General Brown in filing the November lawsuit were the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Connecticut, Colorado, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaiʻi, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.