Trump admin drops legal fight over student loan forgiveness programme

The Trump administration moved on Wednesday to end its legal fight to overhaul a popular student loan forgiveness programme.

The Department of Justice appealed after federal judges ruled in June in favour of advocates who said the Public Service Loan Forgiveness programme risked becoming a tool for political retribution.

But it dropped two appeals on Wednesday in single-sentence joint agreements, which stipulated that each side would pay its own fees.

Federal officials provided no explanation, but advocates praised the ruling.

"The Trump administration's attempt to weaponise public service loan forgiveness against organisations it disagrees with was anti-democratic and unlawful from the start," Dan Zibel, an attorney for the group Student Defense, said in a written statement.

"This is a significant victory for millions of Americans who have dedicated their careers to public service." The PSLF programme was designed to make jobs in government, public schools, fire and police ...