Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump

Topics

• OBBBA student loan caps take effect, ending Grad PLUS for new borrowersOn July 1, 2026, the most sweeping changes to federal student lending in a generation took effect. Congress buried them in a 940-page budget bill, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), signed by President Trump on July 4, 2025. As of today, the federal Grad PLUS Loan Program no longer exists for new borrowers. Parent PLUS loans are capped at $20,000 per year per child. Every student faces a $257,500 lifetime ceiling across all federal borrowing combined. These caps affect anyone starting a graduate or professional program in the 2026-27 academic year. More than 440,000 students took out Grad PLUS loans in the 2023-24 academic year to cover the full cost of attendance at medical schools, law schools, and doctoral programs. Those loans are gone for new borrowers. The Congressional Budget Office projects the caps will save taxpayers $44 billion over ten years, but borrower advocates counter that 40 percent of private-loan applicants can't qualify for credit, leaving them priced out of advanced degrees entirely.
• Senators ask Fed watchdog to probe Bowman Wall Street dinnerOn July 1, 2026, Senators Elizabeth Warren, Jack Reed, and Chris Van Hollen wrote to Federal Reserve Inspector General Michael Horowitz asking him to investigate whether Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman broke central bank rules at a closed-door Bank of America client dinner held during the FOMC blackout period. The dinner took place June 17, hours after the FOMC announced its first rate decision under new Chair Kevin Warsh, while the blackout period was still in effect. Fed rules bar officials from sharing views on monetary policy with anyone who could profit financially during that window. Bowman said she did not discuss monetary policy, but public reporting said she discussed Fed topics including the Standing Repo Facility. Former Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker said the rules left no room for interpretation: attending a bank-hosted client dinner during the blackout period was simply not done. The case puts a spotlight on who gets exclusive access to the nation's most powerful bank regulator and whether the Fed's ethics framework needs new teeth.
• DOJ sues California to halt Glock ban and handgun rosterOn July 1, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a federal lawsuit against California to block two gun laws from taking effect: Assembly Bill 1127, which bans dealers from selling Glock pistols and other striker-fired handguns with cruciform trigger bars, and the state's existing Handgun Roster, which limits which handguns dealers can legally sell. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon filed the suit in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, naming California and Attorney General Rob Bonta as defendants. The DOJ argues both laws violate the Second and Fourteenth Amendments by preventing Californians from buying the most popular handgun in the country. California signed AB1127 into law on October 10, 2025, making it the first state to ban Glocks by targeting the cruciform trigger mechanism that allows conversion to automatic fire. Bonta's office rejected Dhillon's June 24 demand letter and said it would defend the laws in court.
• US declines to renew USMCA, begins annual reviews of $2 trillion trade dealOn July 1, 2026, the United States declined to renew the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) in its current form, setting off a legally distinct process of annual reviews that can continue until the agreement expires in 2036. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer hosted a virtual trilateral meeting with Mexico and Canada and announced that the US "did not agree to renew the USMCA in its current form." The agreement, which replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and entered into force on July 1, 2020, requires a joint review by the three countries every six years. Under USMCA Article 34.7, nations that decline to confirm extension enter a period of annual reviews instead. Trump cited US trade deficits with both partners as his "primary concern." In 2022, the most recent year with full figures, the US ran a goods trade deficit of $210.6 billion with Canada and Mexico combined, according to USTR data. USTR Greer pointed to "shortcomings" in the agreement and said the US will continue bilateral negotiations, with a third round with Mexico scheduled for the week of July 20. The agreement remains in force during annual reviews unless all three parties agree to terminate or the 2036 expiration arrives. The non-renewal lands during a period of tariff uncertainty. The Supreme Court struck down IEEPA-based tariffs on February 20, 2026, in Learning Resources v. Trump, after which Trump invoked Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. § 2132) as an alternative authority. Section 122 tariffs are capped at 15 percent ad valorem and expire after 150 days by statute, meaning the current Section 122 authority lapses around July 24, 2026. North American car companies, which depend on USMCA's rules of origin for zero-tariff supply chains, called for a "swift and durable resolution."

Key concepts

• Enumerated powersThe tariff dispute required the Court to distinguish Congress's Article I authority from the narrower authority supplied to the executive by IEEPA.

  SourcesCongress.gov·ConstitutionSep 17, 1787Supreme Court·Learning Resources v. TrumpFeb 20, 2026

• Delegated authorityLearning Resources asks whether the challenged tariffs remained within the authority Congress delegated through IEEPA.

  SourcesSupreme Court·Learning Resources v. TrumpFeb 20, 2026

• Judicial reviewThe Court used judicial review to decide whether the executive tariff program fit the statute Congress enacted.

  SourcesSupreme Court·Learning Resources v. TrumpFeb 20, 2026

Today events

No directly connected Today event in this edition.