AUSTIN, Texas — A Central Texas attorney is suing the U.S. Department of Education after the Trump administration recently suspended student loan repayment plans.
Attorney Ashley Morgan filed the suit Wednesday to hold the department “accountable for pulling the rug out from under a student loan borrower and removing her option to repay her loans pursuant to an income-driven repayment plan,” according to the documents. She also listed U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon in the proceedings.
Morgan told KVUE recently that her student loan payments increased by almost $2,000 after the Trump administration paused income-driven repayment (IDR) plans in February. The decision has affected present and potential borrowers.
Specifically, Morgan stated her payments rose from $507.19 each month to $2,463.58 monthly, spiking more than 350%. It’s an increase she said was “not affordable.”
Morgan stated she began paying her loans in 2017 and has been doing so each month for the past eight years.
She claims she was not informed in advance of the decision to pause income recertification and application availability from the Federal Student Aid website. Instead, Morgan allegedly learned of the change by logging into her accounts to find an income recertification form.
After checking her accounts, Morgan said she attempted to reach out not only to the Department of Education but also to her loan provider, the Office of Federal Student Aid, along with Sen. Ted Cruz and Sen. John Cornyn.
“I just wish that it was done in a more thoughtful way,” Morgan told KVUE. “And that middle class people had more notice because most of us are living paycheck to paycheck.”
The suit comes as President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order instructing the Department of Education to be dismantled, giving control to individual states.
Earlier this month, the department also let go of more than 1,300 employees, impacting nearly half its workforce.