Class Action Lawsuit Accuses Trump Officials of Delaying Student Loan Forgiveness

Linda McMahon, the U.S. Education Secretary, addressed a roundtable on education at the Department of Justice (DOJ) in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, June 11, 2026.

Al Drago | Bloomberg | Getty Images

On Friday, the American Federation of Teachers filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, alleging that it unlawfully blocked student loan forgiveness for tens of thousands of qualifying borrowers.

In the complaint, Weingarten v. McMahon, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the plaintiffs contend that Education Secretary Linda McMahon has mishandled the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program by miscounting borrowers’ payment timelines and failing to grant credit for periods of service.

Established by President George W. Bush in 2007, PSLF permits qualifying nonprofit and government employees to have their federal student loans discharged after 120 qualifying payments, typically over a decade. The Biden administration subsequently revised the program to simplify eligibility, resulting in the forgiveness of loans for more than one million borrowers.

“Secretary McMahon has flagrantly neglected her duty to assist teachers, nurses and first responders,” AFT President Randi Weingarten, the lead plaintiff, stated. The case also includes AFT members and other public‑service employees; the AFT represents approximately 1.8 million members.

“This lawsuit demands that McMahon cease stalling and fulfill her responsibilities,” Weingarten added.

The complaint alleges that Trump administration officials are denying borrowers relief under the Biden‑era PSLF Buyback program, which enables individuals with 120 months of qualifying employment to request retroactive credit for periods missed due to forbearance or deferment.

According to a court filing, roughly 88,000 borrowers remained awaiting decisions on their Buyback applications as of the spring under the Trump administration.

The plaintiffs also assert that the U.S. Department of Education abruptly reduced their qualifying payment counts earlier this year, extending their loan‑forgiveness timelines.

“The Department of Education has taken away the loan‑forgiveness credit I earned without any justification,” said Elizabeth Schoepflin, a speech‑language pathologist and co‑plaintiff from New York, in a statement. “Each additional month prolongs a payment I am not obligated to make.”

An Education Department spokesperson defended the recent PSLF changes, stating that the agency is addressing “coding errors” introduced by the Biden administration.

“These errors have produced inaccurate payment counts for certain borrowers,” the spokesperson told CNBC via email. “The Department remains committed to ensuring that every qualifying payment is correctly credited to a borrower’s account.”

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