PSJD News Digest – August 8, 2025

August 8, 2025 at 4:42 pm · Filed under Public Interest Law News Bulletin

Sam Halpert, NALP Director of Public Service Initiatives

Photo: Harris and Ewing Collection, Library of Congress

Hi Interested Public,

Another blockbuster week of news. After critical appeals court rulings, the Trump administration has begun to strip federal workers of union protections. The Trump Administration also rescinded longstanding mandates for diversity in federal hiring, while the Justice Department issued an expansive theory of how diversity hiring might violate antidiscrimination law in a “Dear Colleague” letter The ABA is reportedly considering whether to end diversity requirements for its board seats. The Partnership for Public Service estimated the scale of the Trump Administration’s reduction in force, as multiple federal agencies sought to reassign remaining staff away from their positions into areas of higher priority for the administration. Student loan delinquency rates are reaching a generational high.

As always, these stories and more are in the links below. Solidarity,

Sam

Editor’s Choice(s)

A second appeals court has allowed Trump’s anti-union EO to go into effect (Government Executive; 4 Aug 2025)
- Trump Administration Begins to Strip Federal Workers of Union Protections (New York Times; 6 Aug 2025)
- Federal Worker Unions Short on Options During Trump Policy Blitz (Bloomberg Law; 6 Aug 2025)
After shedding most employees, DOJ looks to shift around Civil Rights staff to fill ‘deep need’ (Government Executive; 1 Aug 2025)

“The Justice Department is soliciting staff within its Civil Rights Division to take reassignments to fill vacancies in areas related to education, employment and voting, with leaders citing the “deep need” created by significant vacancies.”
- Trump administration shifts FEMA staff to ICE during hurricane season (Reuters; 6 Aug 2025)
  
  “The Washington Post reported, opens new tab that DHS transferred more than 100 people to ICE from its human resources department and security team, citing current and former officials familiar with the reassignments. Reuters was not able to determine the number of affected staff. The timing of the transfers could leave FEMA understaffed at a critical moment, former FEMA officials warned, potentially hampering disaster response during the height of hurricane season.”

Federal RIFs & Grant Cancellations

At least 148,000 federal employees have left government under Trump, good government group reports (Government Executive; 1 Aug 2025)
VA terminates most of its union contracts, appearing to disregard OPM guidance (Government Executive; 6 Aug 2025)
‘The neutrality of the agency has been eliminated’: Stats-based feds decry BLS chief’s firing (Government Executive; 6 Aug 2025)

“Some federal employees are concerned about downstream impacts after President Trump last week fired the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, suggesting it could lead to future meddling in their work…In addition to compiling the monthly unemployment figure, BLS is responsible for detailing wage trends, labor force participation and other characteristics of the American workforce. Economists, policymakers and businesses lean on the data to inform their decision making. Several stakeholder groups, such as the Association of Public Data Users, denounced the firing and said BLS must adhere to scientific standards.”

Non-Federal Funding

[San Francisco, CA]: Public Defender's Office Will Add 4 Positions Dedicated To Immigration Cases After $3.4M Donation (SF Gate; 7 Aug 2025)

Civil Society

What Is “Civil Society”—and How Is It Under Threat? (Nonprofit Quarterly; 4 Aug 2025)
NY Law Schools See New Interest in Immigration Classes, Clinics (Bloomberg Law; 8 Aug 2025)
Trump’s War on Big Law Means It’s Harder to Challenge the Administration (Pro Publica; 6 Aug 2025)
New nonprofit firm in Washington adds to legal resistance to Trump (Reuters; 4 Aug 2025)
Paul Weiss May Risk Trump's Ire Over Representation of Black Church in Its Lawsuit Against Proud Boys (Law.com; 5 Aug 2025)
Legal document shows discord between Harvard and Trump admin amid negotiations (Mass Live; 6 Aug 2025)
Gavin Newsom urges UCLA not to strike a deal with Trump (San Francisco Chronicle; 7 Aug 2025)

Student Debt & Other Student Concerns

The Office of Federal Student Aid Is Under Attack (The American Prospect; 7 Aug 2025)

“President Trump’s education secretary, Linda McMahon, has cut 1,315 positions from the Department of Education, including 326 from FSA. Following the Supreme Court decision in McMahon v. New York, Trump and McMahon now have free rein to lay off half of the department’s staff. This has made it far more difficult for FSA to carry out its functions, and students and working families are already feeling the impact. One survey by the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) found that both students and colleges report facing significant delays when seeking information about awards…While nonenforcement by FSA has not necessarily been immediately felt, we can look to the first Trump administration to see what the consequences of that are like. Back then, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos shrank FSA’s staff by roughly 13 percent, which included 8 of the 21 employees who oversaw enforcement and the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. PSLF offers full federal loan forgiveness to people who work for approved nonprofits or in government for ten years.”
- Education Department has a backlog of 27,000 complaints about student loans (NBC News; 7 Aug 2025)
  
  “A key office in the Department of Education responsible for fielding grievances about student loans has a backlog of more than 27,000 complaints after losing nearly two-thirds of its staff.”

Student loan delinquency rates highest in 21 years as COVID moratorium fades away (Fox Business; 6 Aug 2025)
Your Employees With Student Loans Are Struggling, and It’s About to Get Worse (Inc.; 8 Aug 2025)
- IRS reminds employers: Educational Assistance Programs can help pay employee student loans through 2025 (IRS; 6 Aug 2025)
Student Loan Defaults Could Hit 1,100+ Colleges Hard—And Borrowers May Pay the Price (Investopedia; 7 Aug 2025)
Students put education dreams on hold after Trump budget bill (Prism; 7 Aug 2025)

“Shawn Jiminez has long dreamed of going to law school to become an advocate for disadvantaged communities. The 19-year-old Bowdoin College junior is the first one in his family to attend college; without familial connections or insight into the legal or education systems, navigating his educational choices as a low-income student has been “a game of strategy.” But Jiminez’s plans for his future have ground to a halt after President Donald Trump signed the reconciliation bill in July, severely limiting the amount of money students can borrow from the federal government for graduate and professional programs.”