Were there executive orders or agency memos under Trump that altered professional licensing for nurses?

1. Executive orders and memos that sought to expand APRN practice at the federal level

The Trump administration issued an executive order directing agencies (notably HHS/Medicare) to review and recommend removing federal regulatory “supervision requirements, conditions of participation requirements, and licensure requirements in Medicare that limit clinicians from practicing at the top of their profession,” language cited in coverage of EO 13890 and related directives ^{[2] [3]}. Advocates saw this as a federal push to ease Medicare‑level restrictions on advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) and physician assistants so they could provide more care, and the order explicitly tasked HHS with developing recommendations to that effect ^{[4] [3]}.

2. What these federal actions can — and cannot — change about licensing

Sources emphasize a structural limit: professional licensure for nurses is primarily state‑based. Even when the executive branch ordered federal regulatory reviews or recommended loosening Medicare supervision rules, actual scope‑of‑practice and professional licensure laws remain controlled by states unless Congress or state legislatures change them ^[4]. In other words, the EO and agency rule‑making could alter federal reimbursement rules and Medicare conditions, but they cannot, on their own, supersede state licensing regimes ^[4].

3. The Department of Education move that altered “professional degree” status for nursing

Separate from the health‑sector EO, the Department of Education implemented changes under the “One Big Beautiful Bill” that redefined which programs are treated as “professional degree” programs for the purpose of new student‑loan limits and program categorizations. Multiple outlets report the Education Department excluded nursing (and related fields such as physician assistant and physical therapy) from that updated list, meaning different borrowing caps and financial implications for nursing students ^{[6] [7] [8] [9] [10]}.

4. Financial and workforce consequences highlighted by nursing groups

Nursing organizations including the American Nurses Association and academic nursing groups publicly criticized the Education Department’s exclusion, warning it could reduce access to graduate nursing education by making borrowing harder and thereby worsen workforce shortages and barriers to advanced practice roles ^{[6] [9] [10]}. State and local education reporting likewise reported concerns that the change will affect hundreds of thousands of students and could take effect with implementation timelines referenced in coverage ^{[12] [13]}.

5. Conflicting coverage and fact‑checking nuance

While many news outlets reported the Education Department’s narrowed “professional degree” list and the exclusion of nursing, fact‑checking outlets noted ambiguity and potential misinterpretation in how that reclassification interacts with prior lists and legal definitions. Snopes summarized that social media claims spread widely and that the administration’s interpretation relied on linking degrees to specific federal classification codes, which produced confusion about the scope and permanence of the change ^[11]. This suggests readers should distinguish the administrative borrowing‑cap consequence from broader questions about whether nursing “is” or “is not” a profession in other legal or licensing senses ^[11].

6. Competing perspectives and visible agendas

Supporters of the EO framed it as removing “unnecessary and burdensome” federal constraints to expand access to care and let APRNs practice at the top of their training ^{[3] [4]}. Opponents — including nursing organizations — framed the Education Department change as a move that would shrink training opportunities and harm patient care by making advanced education less affordable ^{[6] [9]}. Media outlets critical of the administration highlighted the potential workforce harm and emphasized the policy’s fiscal motives; industry and regulatory reform advocates emphasized deregulation and reduced federal constraints ^{[6] [3] [4]}.

7. Bottom line and reporting limits

Available sources confirm Trump administration actions did both: issue an executive order aimed at loosening federal Medicare rules affecting APRNs (without directly changing state licensure) and direct the Department of Education to narrow which graduate programs qualify as “professional degrees” for loan‑cap purposes, with nursing explicitly excluded in the cited reporting ^{[2] [3] [6] [7] [8] [9]}. Sources do not provide comprehensive legal texts or final rule language here, nor do they document whether subsequent agency rule‑making fully implemented every directive — available sources do not mention final regulatory texts or full legal outcomes beyond press coverage and initial agency announcements ^[11].