Randi Weingarten says McMahon has left 90,000 public employees in the lurch
Randi WeingartenPresident of the American Federation of Teachers and lead plaintiff, in the union's press release
In the AFT's announcement of the lawsuit, Weingarten says McMahon has left 90,000 public employees in the lurch instead of processing their buyback applications in good faith, pushing them further into debt.
Responding to
The Education Department is withholding or delaying Public Service Loan Forgiveness buyback decisions, failing to credit borrowers for time worked in public service and clawing back credit it had already given.
“Instead of processing applications in good faith, McMahon has left 90,000 dedicated public employees in the lurch, forcing them further into debt while their applications just sit there.”
Official statement
Where this statement fits
AFT sues Education Secretary McMahon over stalled Public Service Loan Forgiveness buyback requests and reduced payment counts; the department says it is correcting Biden-era coding errors
On October 30, 2026, AFT President Randi Weingarten and borrowers who work in public service sued Education Secretary Linda McMahon and the U.S. Department of Education in federal court in Washington, D.C. The proposed class action says the department has left tens of thousands of Public Service Loan Forgiveness buyback requests undecided, removed qualifying payment credit that borrowers had already received and stopped posting recent payments. An Education Department spokesperson told CNBC that the agency is correcting coding errors made under the Biden administration that resulted in inaccurate payment counts for some borrowers.
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Official statement
About this source
AFT press release of October 30, 2026, announcing the class action lawsuit. It includes statements from AFT President Randi Weingarten, plaintiffs Elizabeth Schoepflin and David Petley, and Protect Borrowers senior counsel Laura C. Dismore, and links to the complaint.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
The AFT's release announces the class action lawsuit Weingarten v. McMahon. Weingarten first says McMahon has ignored her responsibility to help teachers, nurses and first responders under the buyback provision, which she says was adopted to help people hurt by the first Trump administration's handling of student debt.
After the quotation
She adds that the lawsuit demands that McMahon stop stalling and do her job. The release says the buyback backlog had reached nearly 90,000 applications by April.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The reference point is the Education Department's handling of Public Service Loan Forgiveness buyback requests and payment counts, which the lawsuit challenges. Weingarten says McMahon has left applicants waiting and pushed them further into debt instead of processing their applications in good faith, condemning that handling.
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More from this case
Read the full caseEducation Department says coding errors resulted in inaccurate payment counts for some borrowers
U.S. Department of Education
“These errors resulted in inaccurate payment counts for some borrowers”Read statement
Protect Borrowers, in a statement by senior counsel Laura C. Dismore, accuses McMahon of blatant flouting of the law
Protect Borrowers
“AFT is, once again, stepping up to hold Linda McMahon accountable in court for her blatant flouting of the law.”Read statement
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The Dispute Index. "Randi Weingarten says McMahon has left 90,000 public employees in the lurch". First published: 2026-11-02. Last updated: 2026-11-02. https://disputeindex.com/events/7745-in-the-aft-s-announcement-of-the-lawsuit