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Trump and nursing professionals
Executive summary
The U.S. Department of Education has moved to exclude nursing from its list of “professional degree” programs as part of implementing President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” (OBBBA), a change that advocates say will reduce graduate loan access and could worsen the nursing shortage [1] [2]. Nursing groups including the American Nurses Association warn the reclassification will limit higher borrowing caps previously available to many nursing graduate students; the rule change is slated to take effect July 1, 2026, and affects other fields beyond nursing [3] [4].
1. What the change actually says — a regulatory redefinition
The Department of Education has revised the regulatory definition of “professional degree,” removing explicit inclusion of nursing and listing a narrower set of fields (medicine, law, dentistry, pharmacy, optometry, veterinary medicine, osteopathic medicine, podiatry, chiropractic, theology and clinical psychology), which means many nursing graduate programs no longer qualify for the higher “professional student” loan limits under OBBBA [4] [5]. Reports note the regulatory definition dated to 1965 did not definitively list nursing originally, but the latest action explicitly excludes it in the new implementation [1] [3].
2. Financial mechanics — what students stand to lose
Under the new law’s loan structure, professional students are eligible for a higher aggregate borrowing limit (reported as up to $200,000 in media coverage) while graduate students face lower caps (reported as $100,000 or annual limits like $20,500), and the Grad PLUS program is being eliminated — changes that nursing graduate students say will reduce access to funds they have relied on for advanced degrees [6] [3]. Multiple outlets report that ending Grad PLUS and narrowing which fields qualify as “professional” will directly constrain many nursing students’ borrowing options [1] [2].
3. The stakes for the workforce — nursing organizations’ warnings
Nursing organizations have loudly objected, arguing the move will “threaten the very foundation of patient care” and could exacerbate an existing shortage by making graduate-level nursing education harder to finance and by discouraging entrants into advanced practice roles such as nurse practitioners and clinical specialists [6] [2]. The American Nurses Association’s leadership has publicly urged the Department to reverse or amend the decision to preserve access to loan programs that support advanced nursing education [4] [3].
4. Scale and who is affected
Coverage cites thousands of current students in nursing programs who could be affected — media pieces reference over 260,000 students in entry‑level BSN programs and tens of thousands in associate programs, plus those enrolled in graduate-level nursing — although exact tallies of impacted graduate students vary by outlet [5] [2]. Reporting also emphasizes that other predominantly female-dominated fields such as physician assistants, physical therapy and audiology are similarly excluded from the “professional” list, widening the policy’s reach beyond nursing [6] [7].
5. Competing perspectives — policy intent vs. professional advocates
Proponents of OBBBA and the Education Department frame revisions as part of broader student‑loan restructuring and cost-control measures; coverage ties the exclusions to implementing limits and eliminating Grad PLUS under that law [1] [3]. Nursing groups and many health‑care observers present the opposite view: that the exclusions are an administrative downgrading of nursing’s professional status that will harm workforce capacity and patient care [2] [4]. Outlets also highlight accusations from critics that the exclusions disproportionately affect female-dominated professions, while available sources do not provide the Department’s full rationale beyond tying the change to OBBBA implementation [7] [1].
6. Immediate timeline and next steps to watch
Reports indicate the change is set to be implemented on July 1, 2026, and that the Department offered a public-comment/regulatory process in other contexts in prior years — suggesting there may be opportunities for advocacy or legal challenge before full effect [3] [8]. Nursing organizations have signaled they will press the Department and lawmakers; available sources do not detail any finalized litigation or successful reversals as of these reports [2] [4].
7. What reporting does and does not say — limitations
Current reporting documents the reclassification, projected effects on loan eligibility, and nursing groups’ objections, but does not provide exhaustive data tying the policy to quantified future workforce losses, nor does it include the Department of Education’s full internal justification beyond linking the change to OBBBA implementation [1] [2]. Detailed fiscal modeling, long-term workforce projections, or responses from hospital systems are not found in the cited coverage [1] [3].
Bottom line: The Department of Education’s redefinition of “professional degree” under OBBBA removes nursing from that category and narrows graduate loan eligibility; nursing organizations warn the move will curtail funding and worsen shortages, while proponents present it as part of broader student‑loan reforms — the public record in the cited reporting documents the change and reactions, but fuller impact analyses and the Department’s complete rationale are not presented in these sources [2] [1].