Student loan forgiveness: Trump's win brings uncertainty to borrowers
WASHINGTON - President-elect Donald Trump’s stance on student loans has cast doubt on the future of debt relief with advocates who are now turning their attention to President Joe Biden, urging him to act swiftly on student loan forgiveness before his term ends.
Trump has previously expressed opposition to Biden's efforts to provide widespread student debt relief, which suggests that his administration would not continue the current loan forgiveness programs and may attempt to roll back some of Biden’s initiatives.
Throughout his campaign, Trump and other Republican leaders criticized Biden’s student loan forgiveness plans, with GOP-led states filing lawsuits that have delayed debt cancellation for millions of borrowers. Trump has remained largely silent on what specific actions he would take regarding student loans, leaving many borrowers uncertain about their financial futures.
The GOP opposition to student loan forgiveness primarily stems from concerns about fiscal responsibility, fairness, and the potential impact on the economy.
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Republicans argue that canceling student loan debt would be costly and could add to the national debt. In addition, many Republicans contend that student loan forgiveness is unfair, particularly to those who have already paid off their loans or chose not to take on debt in the first place. They argue that taxpayers should not be responsible for paying off loans that borrowers willingly took out.
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While the economy was a key factor in the recent election, student loan cancellation was not a focus of the campaign for either Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris, who steered clear of the issue at her political events.
The issue came up just once in the September presidential debate, when Trump hammered Harris and Biden for failing to deliver their promise of widespread forgiveness. Trump called it a "total catastrophe" that "taunted young people."
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Last month, Biden announced that over 1 million people have benefited from the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, which erases remaining student debt for graduates who have worked in qualifying government or nonprofit positions for 10 years.
Student Loan Forgiveness Advocates rally outside of Supreme Court of the United States after the nation's high court stuck down President Biden's student debt relief program on Friday, June 30, 2023 in Washington, DC (Credit: Kent Nishimura / Los Ang
But it has been an uphill battle for Biden, who’s first plan to cancel up to $20,000 for millions of people was blocked by the Supreme Court last year. A second, narrower plan has been halted by a federal judge after Republican-led states sued. A separate policy intended to lower loan payments for struggling borrowers has been paused by a judge, also after Republican-controlled states challenged it.
Bob Eitel, who served during the first Trump administration as a senior counselor to the education secretary, said he expects the president-elect will move to rescind the loan cancellations.
"The Trump administration may pursue different avenues of loan relief, but it will not be the mass blanket types of forgiveness that the current administration has pursued," said Eitel, president and co-founder of the Defense of Freedom Institute for Policy Studies.