Long-awaited changes to student-loan repayment are a step closer to reality.
The public comment period on President Donald Trump’s sweeping changes to repayment and borrowing concluded on Monday. The Department of Education will now evaluate the comments and determine whether it will change its proposed rule before moving to final implementation in July.
The department’s rule includes new borrowing caps for advanced degrees, the elimination of existing income-driven repayment plans, and the creation of a new, less generous plan with a longer timeline to debt relief and likely higher monthly payments.
Over 15,000 people commented on the department’s proposal, including students, advocates, and lawmakers. Many of the comments took issue with the department’s proposed borrowing caps for advanced programs: a $100,000 lifetime limit for graduate students and a $200,000 limit for professional students. The department also limited what would qualify as “professional” to a list of 10 programs, including medicine and dentistry, but not post-graduate nursing programs.
“To undermine access to this education would run counter to this nation’s stated goal of achieving the highest possible quality of healthcare for all citizens,” one public comment said. A bipartisan group of over 100 lawmakers wrote in a letter that they submitted to public comment that “now is not the time to cut off the student pipeline to these programs.”
Another commenter wrote: “Save the SAVE program!! Allow us please to keep this affordable program.” Trump’s “big beautiful” spending legislation called for the elimination of former President Joe Biden’s SAVE plan, which allowed for cheaper monthly payments and a shorter timeline to debt relief. The legislation would phase out the plan by 2028. While the department announced a proposed settlement to end the program ahead of schedule, a court declined to rule on the settlement, keeping the plan active for now.
Undersecretary of Education Nicholas Kent said in a statement ahead of the public comment period that the repayment changes will ensure “that every professional in America—from teachers and nurses to physicians and clergy—can pursue their careers without taking on debt they may never be able to repay.” The department added in a press release that it “may make changes to the proposed regulations in response to substantive comments.”
The changes are expected to shift more federal borrowers to private lending to supplement the new borrowing caps. Jonathan Witter, the CEO of private lender Sallie Mae, said during an earnings call in January that the company is “excited about the opportunity created by the recent federal student lending reforms.”
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