Washington, D.C. – A large and diverse series of more than 130 organizations – legal experts, civil rights, legal aid, and LGBTQ+ organizations, environmental leaders and local governments – have submitted friend of the court briefs in National Council of Nonprofits v. McMahon, a challenge brought by cities, workers, and civil society organizations to the Trump-Vance administration’s weaponization of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program in an unlawful attempt to silence critics and stifle dissent.
The case was brought last November against the U.S. Department of Education (ED), charging the Trump-Vance administration with unlawfully interfering with the PSLF program to silence governments and non-profit organizations that do work the administration doesn’t like. The administration’s new PSLF rule breaks a decades-old bipartisan congressional promise to support those who choose to dedicate their careers to public service.
The briefs include submissions from:
- The Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights and the ACLU Racial Justice Project
- 94 legal aid organizations (led by Maryland Legal Aid and Greater Boston Legal Services)
- A coalition of 10 LGBTQ+ equality organizations (led by GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders and Lambda Legal)
- A coalition of 18 environmental organizations (led by Conservation Law Foundation, Southern Environmental Law Center, and Environmental Law & Policy Center)
- A group of 10 local governments and cities (led by New York City)
Plaintiffs include City of Albuquerque, City of Boston, City of Chicago, City and County of San Francisco, County of Santa Clara, Amica Center for Immigrant Rights, Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, Legal Aid DC, National Association of Social Workers, National Council of Nonprofits, Oasis Legal Services, AFT, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, and National Education Association. The coalition is represented by Democracy Forward and Protect Borrowers in this matter; the County of Santa Clara and City and County of San Francisco represent themselves.
“This case represents an incredibly broad group of entities in support of the public service sector. Having such an impressive and large coalition join us in the fight, and share how important the PSLF program is to them, demonstrates how enormously disruptive and harmful the Trump-Vance effort to weaponize this program truly is,” said Sarah Goetz, Senior Counsel at Democracy Forward. “Democracy Forward is honored to be in solidarity with these organizations as we work to fight back against this unlawful assault on the public service sector.”
Read more about National Council of Nonprofits et al. v. McMahon, here.
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Democracy Forward Foundation is a national legal organization that advances democracy and social progress through litigation, policy, public education, and regulatory engagement. For more information, please visit www.democracyforward.org.
