The U.S. Department of Education asked a federal judge for an 18‑month extension to resolve roughly 207,000 borrower‑defense claims tied to the Sweet v. McMahon settlement. The settlement obligated the department to either grant automatic relief or issue timely decisions for borrowers defrauded by for‑profit colleges; the agency now says it lacks resources to meet the original January deadline and proposes moving it to July 2027. Advocates representing borrowers urged the court to reject the extension, calling for the department to honor its commitments. The delay would prolong financial uncertainty for hundreds of thousands of former students and complicate colleges’ exposure to potential large‑scale relief rulings.