Judge blocks part of Trump's student loan caps for graduate programs

Key Points:

• A federal judge blocked part of the Trump administration's plan that limited federal student loan access for graduate students in nursing, physical therapy, public health, and other fields, pausing the updated definition of "professional degree" used to enforce loan caps.
• The new loan caps, set to take effect in July, limit graduate program loans to $100,000 and professional degrees to $200,000, but the Education Department's narrow definition of professional degrees excluded many healthcare-related fields.
• Judge Beryl Howell ruled that the Education Department exceeded its authority by imposing stricter requirements on the definition of professional degrees, potentially harming students and underserved communities reliant on critical healthcare professionals.
• The ruling does not stop the loan caps themselves but prevents the Education Department from applying the restrictive new definition, while the department reviews the decision and a related lawsuit from Democratic-led states remains pending.
• Advocacy groups representing nurse practitioners and other healthcare students praised the ruling as a crucial step to protect access to education and maintain the future healthcare workforce.