18 States and D.C. Sue Betsy DeVos Over Student Loan Relief

On Thursday, Democratic attorney generals from 18 states, D.C., and two student loan borrowers filed a lawsuit against Betsy DeVos and the Department of Education over student loan protections.

Last month, the Department blocked rules the Obama Administration set in place just one month before the presidential election. The rules erased the federal loan debt of student borrowers that were victims of fraudulent behavior at the hands of for-profit colleges.  After Trump took office and appointed DeVos to head the Department of Education, she stalled the new rules calling them, “a muddled process that’s unfair to students and schools,” as it “puts the taxpayer on the hook for significant costs.” As a result, she claimed that she would develop a new system to for student loan relief.

However, she hasn’t, and in turn, the lawyers filed a lawsuit to have the rules restored, claiming DeVos freeze was just an excuse to repeal and replace rules set by the Obama administration. Also, they say DeVos broke federal law by announcing the freeze without any public engagement process.