Vance, Trump's former VP, urged the GOP to fiercely oppose student loan forgiveness.

• Trump and Vance agree that student loan borrowers should not have their debt forgiven.
• In April 2022, Vance, a Yale Law School graduate, wrote on X that Republicans must fight this with every ounce of their energy and power.

Donald Trump and Sen. JD Vance of Ohio agree that student loan borrowers should not have their debt canceled.

"Vance, a Yale Law School graduate and the author of "Hillbilly Elegy," wrote in April 2022 that forgiving student debt is a massive windfall to the rich, college-educated, and corrupt university administrators of America. He argued that Republicans must fight this with every ounce of their energy and power."

The total amount of outstanding education debt in the U.S. is approximately $1.6 trillion. Approximately 43 million people, or 1 in 6 adult Americans, have student loans. Studies indicate that women and people of color are disproportionately affected by this debt.

In May, Vance introduced legislation to forgive parents' student loans in cases of permanent disability of their child.

Vance's office did not respond to requests for comment.

GOP efforts to eliminate student loan forgiveness

The Biden administration's recent efforts to reduce or eliminate people's debts could be threatened by Vance's readiness to fight student loan forgiveness policies, experts say. Those relief measures are already under attack by Republicans.

Federal judges in Kansas and Missouri temporarily stopped major provisions of the U.S. Department of Education's new affordable repayment plan for borrowers in response to lawsuits brought by several red states, including Arkansas, Florida, and Missouri, in late June.

The next interview could be won or lost based on job skills. A five-day return to the office is unlikely. The job market is still strong but has become competitive.

The Supreme Court struck down President Biden's plan to cancel up to $20,000 in student debt for millions of Americans, which was also challenged by six GOP-led states.

Trump, as president, called for the abolition of the widely-used Public Service Loan Forgiveness program and halted a regulation aimed at granting loan forgiveness to those who were deceived by their schools.

The Heritage Foundation's Project 2025 proposes to reduce student loan forgiveness programs, including the elimination of certain affordable repayment plans for borrowers. Several individuals who previously worked for Trump were involved in creating the plan, and a recently unearthed video from April 2022 shows Trump discussing the group's plans at a Heritage Foundation gala.

Aissa Canchola Bañez, the political director for Protect Borrowers Action, stated that if Donald Trump implements his right-wing manifesto, it will harm the economic stability of millions of student loan borrowers and their families, exacerbating the student debt crisis.

'Student debt forgiveness is a working-class issue'

In an interview on Fox News in August 2022, Vance expressed his belief that student loan forgiveness is unfair.

"Vance argued on "Tucker Carlson Tonight" that if you want to provide student debt relief, you should penalize those who have profited from the corrupt system, not expect plumbers in Ohio to subsidize the lifestyle choices of college-educated young people, who are likely to earn a lot of money in the future."

That's not an unusual stance from the right.

Conservatives often argue that it is unfair to forgive the debt of those who have benefited from higher education and burden taxpayers with the cost of doing so. Approximately one-third of Americans aged 25 and older hold a bachelor's degree, according to an estimate by higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz.

Many families are forced to borrow to send their children to college, which is becoming an increasingly necessary step to achieve the middle class, according to consumer advocates. They also criticize the loan system for exacerbating the crisis and making it harder for borrowers to repay their debt.

Vance's portrayal of debt relief as a benefit for the well-off is hypocritical and incorrect, according to Jane Fox, the chapter chair of the Legal Aid Society Attorney's union, UAW local 2325.

"Senator Vance, who went to an elite institution and worked in private equity, rarely needs debt relief, while student debt forgiveness is a concern for the working class, as stated by Fox."

In Ohio, where Vance is senator, student loan borrowers owe $62 billion and have an average balance of about $35,000, according to Kantrowitz.