Key facts
- A coalition of unions filed a lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump's student-loan changes.
- The lawsuit targets lifetime borrowing caps for graduate and professional students and a narrowed definition of professional degrees.
- The unions argue the administration violated administrative procedure in enacting the rule.
- The coalition includes the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, American Federation of Teachers, National Nurses United, and the AFL-CIO.
- Plaintiffs contend the changes will exacerbate staffing shortages in public service professions like social work, education, and public health.
A coalition of public service and healthcare unions has filed a lawsuit against the Department of Education, seeking to block President Donald Trump's recent student-loan overhaul. The suit, filed Tuesday, challenges the administration's narrowed definition of professional degrees and its imposition of lifetime borrowing caps.
The unions argue that the administration violated administrative procedure in enacting the rule and that it will negatively impact professionals in critical fields. The coalition includes prominent labor organizations such as the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), National Nurses United, and the AFL-CIO.
Under the new rules, graduate students face a $100,000 lifetime borrowing cap, while professional students have a $200,000 cap. The department had proposed a narrower definition for professional degrees, limiting the higher cap to only 11 programs. Although a court previously blocked this narrowed definition, the department issued a revised list of qualifying programs while litigation continues.
Plaintiffs contend that even this revised list excludes essential professions like master's degrees in social work, education, and public health, thereby worsening existing staffing shortages. Lee Saunders, president of AFSCME, stated that the rule threatens to make the situation more dire and urged the court to strike down the rule to protect quality patient care, social services, and public health.
The Education Department has expressed confidence in the lawfulness of its definition and stated it will defend it. This lawsuit is one of several legal challenges targeting the administration's student-loan policies, including ongoing cases concerning the professional degree definition and the Biden-era SAVE plan.