A Washington, D.C., federal judge blocked an Education Department rule that would have narrowed which graduate programs qualify for higher professional-degree loan limits, siding with trade groups representing nursing and other health-related fields.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from enforcing a new student loan rule that would have lowered borrowing limits for some graduate students pursuing nursing and other health-related degrees.
U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell in Washington, D.C., issued the ruling late Wednesday, stopping the Education Department rule before it was scheduled to take effect July 1.
The decision came in a lawsuit filed by eight trade organizations, including the American Association of Nurse Practitioners and the PA Education Association. The groups challenged the department’s definition of which programs qualify as professional degrees under new federal loan caps.
Skye Perryman, whose liberal legal organization Democracy Forward represented the plaintiffs, said the ruling protects students preparing for fields such as nursing, public health, education and marriage and family therapy.
“These are key services that the federal government should be supporting by welcoming those who wish to enter them, not creating barriers to vital support,” Perryman said in a statement.
The Education Department said it is reviewing the ruling and will take “appropriate action.” The department has previously defended the loan caps as a way to pressure universities to control costs.
The dispute stems from President Donald Trump’s 2025 tax and spending law, known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Congress passed the measure in July 2025, scaling back federal loans for graduate students.
The law eliminated one category of loan that had allowed students to borrow up to the full cost of attendance. It also imposed new limits on another type of federal graduate loan.
Under the new loan structure, students enrolled in professional degree programs, including law and medical school, may borrow up to $50,000 per year and $200,000 total. Students pursuing other graduate degrees are limited to $20,500 per year and $100,000 overall.
The Education Department issued its rule May 1 to implement the new caps. The rule narrowed the definition of a professional degree to include only certain degrees in 11 fields, including law, medicine, dentistry and theology.
Howell, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, found that the department had exceeded its authority.
The judge said Congress, when it enacted the 2025 law, adopted a long-standing regulatory definition of professional degrees that had been in place since 2007.
“By adopting the preexisting definition as it was in effect on a specific date, Congress removed any discretionary authority the Department may have had to narrow the definition for the purpose of determining federal loan caps,” Howell wrote.
Because of that, Howell ruled that the Education Department’s rule violated the Administrative Procedure Act and must be set aside before taking effect.
The judge declined to go further and block enforcement of the broader loan caps until a new rule is issued. Howell said she could not remedy the plaintiffs’ “primary frustration” with Congress’ decision to eliminate uncapped graduate borrowing.
The ruling leaves the broader federal loan limits created by Congress in place, but blocks the Education Department’s narrower definition of professional degree programs from taking effect.
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