PSJD News Digest – April 7, 2026

April 7, 2026 at 9:45 am · 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,

Huge amount happened last week; catching you up on it all now. Big stories include the President’s invocation of a national security rationale to direct federal spending on government payroll during a lapse in Congressional appropriations, the sudden end of Pamela Bondi’s tenure as Attorney General of the United States, a report suggesting that 40% of college borrowers may not qualify for newly-necessary (standard) private education loans, a new Executive Order tightening restrictions on DEI initiatives for federal contractors (and sub-contractors), and much more. As always, these stories are in the links below. Solidarity,

Sam

Editor’s Choice(s)

  • Trump says he’ll pay all DHS workers after House again fails to end 48-day shutdown (Government Executive; 2 Apr 2026)

    • Liberating the Department of Homeland Security From the Democrat-Caused Shutdown (White House Presidential Memoranda; 3 Apr 2026)

      “As President of the United States, I have determined that these circumstances constitute an emergency situation compromising the Nation’s security. Accordingly, I hereby direct the Secretary of Homeland Security, in coordination with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, to use funds that have a reasonable and logical nexus to the functions of DHS to provide each and every employee of DHS with the compensation and benefits that would have accrued to them if not for the Democrat-led DHS shutdown, consistent with applicable law, including 31 U.S.C. 1301(a).”

Federal Restructuring & Funding

  • Trump Again Wants to Cut Legal Aid Funder Seeking $2.1 Billion (Bloomberg Law; 3 Apr 2026)

    “The Legal Services Corp. has asked Congress to nearly quadruple its budget to more than $2 billion next fiscal year, even as President Donald Trump’s administration is again seeking to scrap the federally funded legal aid organization.”

  • The loophole that keeps a Trump loyalist serving as L.A.’s top federal prosecutor (Los Angeles Times; 4 Apr 2026)

    “Across the country, President Trump has installed handpicked loyalists as top federal prosecutors. Several have been pushed out after legal battles because they lack Senate confirmation to serve as U.S. attorneys. But in Los Angeles, Bill Essayli wields the power of a top prosecutor under a lesser title: ‘first assistant.’”

State & Local Restructuring & Funding

  • Montana AG demands Gallatin County attorney rescind ‘policy’ that doesn’t recognize ICE (Daily Montanan; 3 Apr 2026)

    “Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen on Thursday demanded the Gallatin County Attorney rescind what Knudsen says is an illegal “policy” refusing to recognize U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement as a criminal justice agency and share confidential information. But County Attorney Audrey Cromwell refuted the AG’s characterization of a policy and said in a statement Knudsen was conflating an individual instance involving a civil matter with a county policy.”

Civil Society

Student Debt & Other Student Concerns

Conflicts Over Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility

Access to Justice

  • Millions of Americans continue to lack meaningful access to justice. What can be done about it? [opinion] (ABA Journal; 1 Apr 2026)

    “At LawFi, our new legal fee-lending model takes a different approach, offering regulated point-of-need consumer loans that pay lawyers directly. In this model, clients finance the cost of the legal services needed and repay the loan over time in predictable, affordable monthly installments. Repayment of the legal fee loan is not based on the outcome of a case; it is repaid like any other installment loan used to finance other products or services. The borrower takes out a loan to pay for legal services and agrees to repay it over time. Unlike litigation funding, the legal fee lending model can be applied across a broad range of legal matters, including administrative, transactional, civil and commercial cases. Currently, payment options for these types of cases have been limited to credit card financing.”