On June 24, 2026, Susan Collins voted no on taking up a resolution to overturn the Education Department rule establishing new loan limits for graduate students, professional students, and parents, and the resolution died 45 to 52. The Center for American Progress found the new graduate limits will leave many master's and professional students short of what their programs cost.
Collins had voted to confirm Education Secretary Linda McMahon and Under Secretary Nicholas Kent, whose department wrote the rule, restarted collections on defaulted loans and is shutting down the SAVE repayment plan. In Maine, borrowers moved from SAVE to the new plan face higher payments every year.
Susan Collins's Votes on Student Loans and the Education Department Officials
- Collins Voted to Keep the Education Department's Rule Carrying Out the Loan Caps in June 2026. On June 24, 2026, Susan Collins voted no on taking up S.J.Res. 196, a resolution to overturn the Education Department rule establishing new loan limits for graduate students, professional students, and parents and the new Repayment Assistance Plan. It failed 45 to 52, and every Republican who voted cast a no vote. The Center for American Progress found the graduate limits will create financing gaps for 13 percent of master’s degree borrowers and 46 percent of professional degree borrowers, forcing many borrowers to turn to more expensive private loans. The rule took effect July 1, 2026, and a federal judge paused the part that left nursing and some other health programs out of the higher professional limit, but her ruling does not stop loan caps from going into effect.
- Collins Voted to Confirm Linda McMahon, Whose Department Restarted Collections and Is Shutting Down the SAVE Plan. On March 3, 2025, Susan Collins voted to confirm Linda McMahon as Secretary of Education, and she was confirmed 51 to 45. In May 2025 her department said it would resume collecting payments from federal student loan borrowers in default for the first time since 2020, and nearly 2 million federal student loan borrowers who applied for a plan tied to their income were stuck in a backlog. In March 2026 it notified 7.5 million student loan borrowers enrolled in the SAVE repayment plan that the plan would phase out. CAP counts 9.5 million, or more than 1 in 5 borrowers, are currently in default.
- Collins Voted to Confirm Nicholas Kent, Who Signed the Rule Setting the New Loan Limits. On August 1, 2025, Susan Collins voted to confirm Nicholas Kent as Under Secretary of Education, the official over federal student aid, and he was confirmed 50 to 45. The May 2026 final rule carrying out the loan limits and the new repayment plan is signed by Nicholas Kent, Under Secretary of Education. Under the new plan, CAP found, a single borrower earning $35,000 a year who would have had $0 payments under the SAVE plan but will owe $88 per month, and Parent PLUS loans that originated on or after July 1, 2026, will no longer be eligible for the ICR pathway, the last income-based option for parents.
What the Loan Rules Susan Collins Voted to Keep Mean for Borrowers in Maine
- Borrowers. 186,600 Mainers hold $6.7 billion in federal student loans, according to Federal Student Aid data as of March 31, 2026.
- Higher payments. Maine borrowers moved from the SAVE plan to the new Repayment Assistance Plan will pay $1,996 more a year on average, and those with a bachelor's degree $2,403 more, according to Center for American Progress estimates; these are averages for borrowers leaving SAVE, not for every Maine borrower.
Frequently Asked Questions About Susan Collins on Student debt
What is Susan Collins's record on student debt under Trump?
Susan Collins voted on June 24, 2026 against taking up a resolution to overturn the Education Department rule that carries out the new caps on graduate and parent loans and the new repayment plan. She voted to confirm Education Secretary Linda McMahon, whose department restarted collections on defaulted loans and is phasing out the SAVE plan, and Under Secretary Nicholas Kent, who signed the loan-limit rule. In Maine, CAP estimates the move from SAVE raises payments by $1,996 a year on average for affected borrowers.
Will student loan payments go up under the new repayment plan?
For many borrowers, yes, under the plan carried out by the rule Susan Collins voted against overturning in June 2026. Borrowers moved from the SAVE plan to the new Repayment Assistance Plan will see bills rise by $2,163 on average annually nationwide, with state averages ranging from $1,428 in Kentucky to $2,981 in Maryland, according to the Center for American Progress.
Did Susan Collins vote to confirm Education Secretary Linda McMahon?
Yes. Susan Collins voted to confirm Linda McMahon on March 3, 2025. Weeks later her department reduced its staff from 4,133 employees to 2,183, and its Office for Civil Rights lost about half its staff.
Last updated: 2026-10-25