For context on how much has changed: under the prior rules, graduate students could borrow up to $20,500 per year in Direct Unsubsidized Loans (the same as this new cap), but could also borrow up to the full cost of attendance through Grad PLUS loans with no annual or aggregate limit. The practical effect was that there was no meaningful borrowing cap for graduate students. This new $100,000 aggregate cap is a significant constraint, particularly for students in multi-year programs at high-cost institutions.

The SAVE plan was an income-driven repayment plan finalized by the Biden Administration in 2023 that would have significantly reduced monthly payments for many borrowers — in some cases to $0 — and shortened forgiveness timelines. The 8th Circuit held in Missouri v. Biden that SAVE exceeded the Department's statutory authority, finding that the plan's costs (estimated at over $400 billion) and scope amounted to a major policy change requiring explicit Congressional authorization. The decision effectively blocked the plan nationwide. The RISE rule's new Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) replaces SAVE as the income-based option going forward.

Negotiated rulemaking ("neg reg") is a specific federal regulatory process under the Negotiated Rulemaking Act of 1990 (5 U.S.C. §§ 561–570a). Unlike typical notice-and-comment rulemaking, the agency convenes a committee of affected stakeholders to negotiate the text of proposed regulations before they are published. The Higher Education Act requires the Department of Education to use this process for most student aid regulations (20 U.S.C. § 1098a). If the committee reaches consensus, the Department generally publishes that language as its proposed rule.

This case involves a dispute over a 645-mile petroleum pipeline that runs through the Straits of Mackinac. The central legal question is whether Enbridge waited too long to remove the case to federal court.