Fact Check: Is Trump banning federal loans for students in low-earning college majors?

WASHINGTON, DC: A claim about the Trump administration’s changes to federal student loans has sparked debate online. Several X users reported that students in low-earning fields such as social work, art, teaching, music, and religious studies could lose access to federal college loans under the new policy. The conflicting claims have raised questions about what the policy actually changes for students and colleges. Let's fact-check the claim.

Claim: Trump bans federal student loans in low-earning fields

The rumor originated from an X post by The New Republic, which has received more than 20 million views. 

The post claimed, “Trump is banning students majoring in degrees that don’t make enough money from taking out college loans. Degrees for social work, art, religious studies, teaching aides, and music will be hit the hardest.” 

The post also shared an article titled, “Trump Moves to Cut Off Student Loans for Tons of Degrees.”

According to the article, “President Trump is banning students majoring in degrees that don’t make enough money from taking out college loans.” It cited a Los Angeles Times report stating the Education Department had finalized a rule requiring schools to show that students' loans were leading to sufficient earnings after graduation.

The claim continued to spread on X, with other users listing fields they said would be affected, including social work, teaching aides, cosmetology, culinary arts, music, art, English literature, film, and religious studies.

The posts sparked widespread discussion and criticism online. One user wrote, “Vote him out.” Another commenter said, “Republicans want people to be poorly educated because they won't vote for them otherwise.” 

A third commenter questioned the policy, writing, “Why is he doing away with so many therapy-type programs? Social work, Music, and Art are all therapy programs.”

Fact Check: False, Education Department disputed claim

The claims are false. The US Department of Education disputed The New Republic’s report that the Trump administration was banning students in low-earning majors such as social work, art, religious studies, teaching and music from getting federal student loans. The department said the policy does not ban any college program or major.

In an X post responding to the report, the Department of Education described the claim as misleading and explained that the federal government does not decide what programs colleges can offer. The department wrote, “This is fake news at its finest. First off, we’re not ‘banning’ any program. The federal government doesn’t set curriculum or programs.”

The department also explained that the policy focuses on whether college programs leave students with debt that their earnings may not support. 

It said, “Here’s the truth: we are holding colleges accountable for leaving students worse off than if they never enrolled. Too many graduates report delaying major life milestones like buying a home or starting a family.”

The department then argued that some programs may leave graduates with high levels of debt and limited earnings. 

It said, “Why? Because low return-on-investment programs saddled them with unmanageable debt that was never going to translate into a real-world job.”

The Department of Education further defended the policy by saying federal loans should support education and training that can prepare students for the workforce. 

The department concluded, “Federal student loans are not a welfare program for failing college programs. American students deserve education and training pathways that prepare them for the workforce – and transparency about programs that will never pay off.”