Trump's DOE sued (twice) for disqualifying LGBTQ+ nonprofit workers from loan forgiveness

Two lawsuits have been filed against Donald Trump's Department of Education over its new policy that prevents workers of LGBTQ+ nonprofits from receiving student loan forgiveness.

The department published a rule in the Federal Register on Friday that allows the Secretary of Education, Linda McMahon, to disqualify government and nonprofit employers that do not align with the Trump administration’s agenda from participating in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program.

One of the lawsuits is led by the National Council of Nonprofits and includes over a dozen cities, unions, and nonprofits. The other was filed by 22 states. Both lawsuits — filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts — accuse the Trump administration of denying benefits legally guaranteed under the Higher Education Act, as well as violating the First Amendment rights of nonprofits and their employees.

Related: Trump's DOE will make LGBTQ+ nonprofit workers ineligible for student loan forgiveness

“The administration's new regulation unlawfully politicizes and undermines a successful, bipartisan program, harming nonprofits and the millions of people who rely on them every day,” Diane Yentel, president and CEO of the National Council of Nonprofits, said in a statement. “PSLF has a proven track record of helping local nonprofits recruit and retain the workforce they need to provide essential services to the American people."

"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 program’s success. This must not stand.”

The Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program forgives the student loans of those who work for federal, state, tribal, or local government, or for non-profit organizations, after they've made payments for ten years (120 payments). Trump signed an executive order in March that drastically limits who qualifies for PSLF, preventing access for people who work at organizations that engage in the supposed “subsidization of illegal activities, including illegal immigration, human smuggling, child trafficking, pervasive damage to public property, and disruption of the public order.”

Related: Federal student loan restrictions will disproportionately impact LGBTQ+ adults

The order directly singled out organizations that assist trans people, including with gender-affirming care, which it falsely refers to as “child abuse, including the chemical and surgical castration or mutilation of children."

Luis Vasquez, Senior Legal Writer for the Human Rights Campaign, told The Advocate on Friday that "this rule is simply about bullying LGBTQ+ people and nonprofits and other progressive groups and making life more difficult for those who Donald Trump dislikes."

"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," Vasquez said. "The administration is once again going beyond what Congress has authorized, pursuing a discriminatory policy without legal basis. This hurts innocent people and should be rescinded immediately.”