U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon faced tense questioning on Capitol Hill as lawmakers focused on federal loan caps, the department’s civil-rights operations, and the administration’s decision to restructure the department’s functions. At the House education committee, McMahon defended changes including new federal borrowing limits for graduate programs and argued updated regulations would reduce college costs. Democrats pressed on whether the structural changes to Education Department responsibilities were lawful and accused the administration of creating chaos for students and families. A central flashpoint was the administration’s definition of “professional student,” which sets higher loan caps for certain graduate programs while excluding others, with the new caps scheduled to take effect July 1. Lawmakers also raised concerns about threats to TRIO and OCR caseload handling as part of the department’s broader shift.