PSJD News Digest – September 24, 2025

September 24, 2025 at 1:56 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,

Hope this message finds you. Apologies for leaving you hanging again last Friday; ongoing illness. Today, I bring you last week’s news; more to come on Friday. Major stories include a class action from the AFT aimed at restoring affordable student loan repayment programs, reports of significant changes to hiring processes within the US DOJ’s civil rights division, and further market indicators of the widespread effects of restarted student loan repayments. As always, these stories and more are in the links below. Solidarity,

Sam

Editor’s Choice(s)

  • Student loan forgiveness delays under Trump prompt class action effort (CNBC; 15 Sept 2025)

    “The American Federation of Teachers, a union representing some 1.8 million members, has said that the U.S. Department of Education is denying student loan borrowers their legally required rights to affordable repayment plans and loan forgiveness programs.”

  • Former SDNY prosecutor Maurene Comey sues White House, DOJ over ‘politically motivated termination’ (NY Daily News; 17 Sept 2025)

    “Veteran Manhattan prosecutor Maurene Comey on Monday sued the Trump administration over her abrupt firing this summer — days after she’d been assigned to take the lead on a major public corruption case — alleging she was targeted based on the president’s long-held animus toward her father.”

    • TRUMP v. SLAUGHTER (Supreme Court of the United States; 22 Sept 2025)

      “The parties are directed to brief and argue the following questions: (1) Whether the statutory removal protections for members of the Federal Trade Commission violate the separation of powers and, if so, whether Humphrey’s Executor v. United States, 295 U. S. 602 (1935), should be overruled. (2) Whether a federal court may prevent a person’s removal from public office, either through relief at equity or at law.” (emphasis added)

Federal Restructuring

  • Trump DOJ Said to Unwind Apolitical Civil Rights Career Hiring (Bloomberg Law; 18 Sept 2025)

    “The revised process diverges from procedures that put hiring in the hands of career staff in response to a politicized recruitment scandal during President George W. Bush’s administration. At least two of the new hires were removed or suspended from prior local prosecutor positions while facing legal and professional complaints, according to their former supervisors and court filings in one instance…Three of the four managers selecting new hires had no prior DOJ supervisory experience, said multiple former civil rights division colleagues.”

Non-Federal Funding

Civil Society

  • Liberal nonprofit groups push back against Trump’s crackdown after Kirk’s killing (The Hill; 17 Sept 2025)

    “In the joint letter, signed by 136 organizations, they condemned political violence and any potential retaliation directed their way…The letter comes as the scrutiny against left-leaning organizations in the U.S. by the Trump administration has increased after the killing of Kirk, the co-founder of Turning Point USA. The president and other administration officials have characterized those left-leaning groups as playing a part in inciting violence, raising concerns that they might be targeted.”

Student Debt & Other Student Concerns

Conflicts Over Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility

Access to Justice