Joe Biden’s efforts on student loan debt relief didn’t often generate front-page headlines, but for the Democratic White House, the issue was a top domestic priority. As regular readers know, however, some of the Democratic administration’s efforts were more successful than others.
The problem wasn’t a lack of effort: Biden would’ve done far more, were it not for ferocious pushback from Republicans and GOP-appointed judges. The results led to odd pushback from Donald Trump, who declared during the 2024 campaign season that the Democratic White House was “ALL TALK, AND NO ACTION” on the issue of student loan debt forgiveness.
That didn’t make a whole lot of sense — Biden and his team took as many actions as they could under the law — but the then- candidate seemed eager to convince younger voters not to support the Democratic ticket because Republicans had successfully derailed some of the Biden administration’s efforts on student loans.
This and related messages proved surprisingly successful: The GOP’s far-right ticket made significant and unexpected gains with voters under 30 last fall.
Nearly nine months after Election Day 2024, the Republican administration doesn’t appear especially eager to repay the favor. On the contrary, as The New York Times reported, Trump and his team are taking new steps to make life worse for student loan borrowers.
The U.S. Education Department said on Wednesday that it would resume applying interest on Aug. 1 to federal student loans held by nearly eight million borrowers in the Biden-era repayment plan known as SAVE, which has been in limbo after being halted by legal challenges. The shift is likely to take borrowers by surprise, giving them just weeks to consider their options at a time when loan servicers face significant backlogs in processing repayment plan applications.
A related report from The Washington Post said, “An analysis by the advocacy group Student Borrower Protection Center estimates that an average borrower affected by the policy change could incur more than $3,500 in interest charges in a year or roughly $300 per month.”
Making matters worse, when it comes to the student loan landscape, this isn’t the only relevant development of late. The New York Times reported last week on the significance of the GOP’s domestic policy megabill and the degree to which it’s likely to make higher education less affordable. The Republican domestic policy bill that cleared Congress on Thursday has far-reaching implications for colleges and students, and could make attending college less accessible, higher education leaders said. The bill would expand the tax on endowments that universities use for financial aid, roll back student loan protections and cap the amount students can borrow for graduate programs. NBC News ran a related report, noting: “A provision tucked inside a sweeping bill signed into law by President Donald Trump last week will make it harder for thousands of aspiring doctors to finance their education as the country faces a growing shortage in that profession.” When making lists of voters feeling buyer’s remorse in 2025, it’s probably wise to look to some of the young adults who thought it’d be a good idea to return Trump to power in 2024. This post updates our related earlier coverage.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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