Washington, D.C. – In a vile, heartless power grab that reeks of bigotry and authoritarian spite, Donald Trump’s Department of Education has unleashed a despicable new policy set to brutally strip workers at LGBTQ+ nonprofits of eligibility for student loan forgiveness. Effective July 1, 2026, this discriminatory decree – buried in a so-called “technical update” to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program – empowers Education Secretary Linda McMahon to blacklist any nonprofit deemed to have a “substantial illegal purpose.” Translation? Any group daring to support trans youth, immigrants, or racial justice – core pillars of queer advocacy – gets axed, dooming dedicated workers to decades of crushing debt for the “crime” of fighting for equality.
This isn’t policy – it’s punishment. Under Secretary Nicholas Kent’s own venomous words, the rule targets “organizations that violate the law… by harboring illegal immigrants or performing prohibited medical procedures that attempt to transition children.” We’re talking frontline heroes at places like the Human Rights Campaign or local trans shelters – folks who’ve sacrificed high salaries to shield vulnerable LGBTQ+ lives from Trump’s hate-fueled assaults. Now, after 10 years of grueling payments, their forgiveness? Yanked away, all because they refuse to bow to MAGA’s culture-war crusade. It’s a gut-punch to the 500,000+ borrowers relying on PSLF, disproportionately queer and people of color drowning in $1.7 trillion of student debt.
X is erupting in righteous fury. #BoycottTrumpEducation detonated to 3.9 million posts overnight, with viral memes of McMahon as a debt-collecting Grim Reaper in a red hat, captioned “Forgiveness for fascists, chains for fighters!” Trans activists like Chase Strangio thundered: “This is economic terrorism against our community – sue the bastards!” And they are: Two lawsuits slammed Monday, led by the National Council of Nonprofits and 22 attorneys general (including California’s Rob Bonta), alleging First Amendment violations and illegal retaliation against “politically disfavored” groups. “Weaponizing debt to silence dissent? Trump’s playbook is pure evil,” roared Democracy Forward’s Skye Perryman.
This echoes Project 2025’s blueprint: gut PSLF, privatize loans, and crush “illiberal” campuses while shielding faith-based bigots. Critics like the Human Rights Campaign call it “bullying LGBTQ+ people and progressive nonprofits” – a direct hit on those aiding gender-affirming care or immigrant rights, already under siege in red states. Trump’s March executive order “Restoring PSLF” was the spark; this rule is the inferno, designed to “push students into… organizations that degrade our national interest.”
America’s educators, advocates, and queer warriors deserve debt relief, not this fascist farce. Rise up – flood the courts, boycott the ballots, and scream until this abomination crumbles. Trump’s not uniting; he’s erasing. Who’s with us in the fight?
