Judge Blocks Trump Rule Limiting Graduate Student Loans

A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from implementing a new rule that would have sharply limited federal student loan access for graduate students in nursing, physical therapy, public health, and several other fields. U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell in Washington, D.C., issued the order late Wednesday, June 24, 2026, just days before the rule was set to take effect on July 1.

The ruling halts the U.S. Department of Education from using its newly narrowed definition of a "professional degree," a designation that carries higher borrowing limits. The definition was a key part of implementing loan caps passed by Congress in July 2025 as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Under the new law, students in programs designated as graduate programs face an annual borrowing cap of $20,500 and a total cap of $100,000. Students in programs classified as professional degrees can borrow up to $50,000 annually and $200,000 in total.

The Education Department's rule, published in May 2026, defined professional degrees to include only 11 fields such as law, medicine, dentistry, and theology. It added new requirements, including that graduates must be able to work free from...