The newly nominated vice presidential candidate for the Republican Party, Sen. JD Vance, can be said to be a good fit with Trump as they agree that student loan borrowers should not cancel their debt.
The outstanding education debt in the United States is around $1.6 trillion. Nearly 43 million people carry student loans. This means that 1 in 6 adult Americans is a student loan borrower, including women and people across the racial spectrum.
In April 2022, on X (then Twitter), Vance tweeted; “Forgiving student debt is a massive windfall to the rich, to the college-educated, and most of all to the corrupt university administrators of America,” He further added, “Republicans must fight this with every ounce of our energy and power.”
To further prove his dedication to canceling student loan forgiveness, Vance cosponsored a bill in the Senate after his victory in the Senate race. The bill was to reject the Biden administration’s regulation for implementing the student loan handout using the Congressional Review Act. However, the bill, although passed by both the House and Senate, could not override Biden’s veto.
Trump not favorable to loan forgiveness
In his tenure as president, Donald Trump called for the elimination of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) initiative. Trump’s administration also halted the regulation aimed at providing loan forgiveness to those defrauded by their schools.
Vance only supports student loan forgiveness in extreme situations. He sponsored a bill known as Domenic and Ed’s Law in May. The bill addressed an inconsistency in federal law by letting the US Department of Education discharge parents’ Federal Family Education Loans (FFEL) if their child becomes disabled.
Under current law, if a child develops a permanent disability, parents are permitted to discharge federal student loans.
While announcing the bill’s introduction, Vance said in a statement, “No parent should be forced to shoulder the burden of FFEL loans while caring for their disabled child.” He also added, “Domenic Carducci, a fellow Buckeye from Steubenville, and his family deserve the relief this bipartisan legislation would provide.”
However, his general view of Biden’s plan to alleviate student debt remains the same. The Republican-led suit has already halted the Department of Education’s new repayment plan. The Supreme Court recently struck down President Biden’s plan to cancel up to $20,000 in student debt for millions of Americans due to the influence of a conservative majority. This legal setback showed Republicans’ effort to limit student loan forgiveness, as reflected in Project 2025 by the Heritage Foundation.
