A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from implementing a new rule that would impose lower federal student loan limits for people pursuing graduate degrees in nursing and other healthcare-related fields. U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell in Washington, D.C., late on Wednesday sided with eight trade organizations including the American Association of Nurse Practitioners and the PA Education Association who sought to block the rule from taking effect on July 1. The Education Department did not respond to a request for comment. The Education Department has defended the caps as necessary to encourage universities to control costs. The groups sued after the department published the rule on May 1 in order to implement new federal student loan caps the Republican-led Congress adopted in July 2025 when it passed President Donald Trump's tax and spending bill known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Read more: Trump administration’s student loan plan blocked by court, keeping treasury transfer on hold
