On May 14, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon testified before the House Committee on Education and Workforce on the Administration’s FY 2027 budget proposal and other priorities.

One of the main targets of questioning at the hearing was the Department of Education’s (ED) decision to exclude nursing programs as a “professional degree” under new student loan limits. ED’s final rule for these new limits excludes graduate-level nursing programs from its defined “professional degree” category. The change caps federal borrowing for nursing students at $100,000, separating them from designated professional fields, such as medicine and law, that have  $200,000 limits. McMahon argued that the designation aims to reduce students’ costs. It is important to note that this designation has no other impact on nursing programs aside from the loan limits.

There was also significant discussion during the hearing regarding proposed cuts and block grants in the Administration’s budget, as well as the series of inter-agency agreements (IAA) to move several education programs from ED to other agencies.

Regarding CTE, Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) expressed concern over the IAA shifting the administration of Perkins funds from ED to the Department of Labor as well as the Trump Administration’s proposal that would be prohibit Perkins funds from being used for postsecondary CTE programs.

McMahon defended the IAA stating that it will allow states to better align their education and workforce development efforts.

A recording of the hearing can be found here.