Biden's Student Loan Forgiveness Rejected: 'Not Buying My Vote'

U.S. President Joe Biden departs the White House on May 03, 2024 in Washington, DC. Biden’s new student loan forgiveness proposal is getting backlash as the president fails to satisfy Americans with his Middle Eastern policies.

Americans have less than two weeks left to post their comments publicly on President Joe Biden’s new student forgiveness plan. But for some Americans, the relief available is not likely to draw support until the president adjusts his policy in the Middle East.

“Sure, great, but please tell Joe what we really want is for him to stop the genocide in Palestine, and he’s not buying my vote with any amount of loan forgiveness,” one public comment reads.

After the October 7, 2023, attack by the Palestinian militant group Hamas that killed 1,200 people, Israel began a widespread military operation in Gaza, killing more than 34,000 Palestinians, according to the Associated Press, citing Gaza health officials.

Since the initial attack, Biden has expressed support for Israel and called on Hamas to release all remaining hostages from the attack. The administration has also pushed for a two-state solution that would allow Palestinians to live alongside Israelis.

“Israel has a right to go after Hamas” Biden said in his State of the Union speech in March, while adding Israel had a “fundamental responsibility” to protect everyday civilians as it goes after the Palestinian militant group.

For some Americans commenting on the student loan forgiveness, the White House Middle East stance has blocked any excitement they’d feel over debt relief here in America.

Already, more than 28,000 comments have been made public on the debt relief that would come via Biden’s second attempt at broader student loan forgiveness. The rules for this student debt relief were published April 17 and would erase debt for more than 30 million borrowers.

The debt forgiveness will work in a variety of ways. Some borrowers will see unpaid interest cancelled, while others will have direct relief if they’ve made 20 years of payments or more.

After May 17, the Department of Education will move forward and begin implementing the relief unless it decides to change its proposal based on the feedback received.

The Supreme Court originally struck down Biden’s attempt at widespread student loan forgiveness, but since then, the Biden administration has been at work finalizing this second proposal. Notably, this policy would require negotiated rulemaking, which is essentially negotiations between various stakeholders in the process and also allow the public comment period for any interested party.

Not everyone is against Biden’s plans, though.

With millions of federal loan borrowers benefiting, it’s likely many of those voters will be supportive of the president as he faces former President Donald Trump in a rematch for the White House this November.

“The more student loan debt that can be forgiven the better,” another public comment reads. “My mom’s loans were forgiven last month, and it has changed her life. The period of time when my loans were paused allowed me to buy a home. My loans are currently in repayment, and if that burden could be lifted it would be life-changing for me.”

Other Americans remain in vocal opposition to the loan forgiveness regardless of the administration’s stance in the Middle East, which they see as an entirely different issue.

Alex Beene, a financial literacy instructor at the University of Tennessee at Martin, said he remains unconvinced the additional number of those who qualify for student loan forgiveness under the new proposal could ever swing an election despite how expansive the new options are.

“More than likely, the expected added support the Biden campaign is hoping to see are from the many more than currently don’t qualify for forgiveness but could if existing options were expanded during a second term,” Beene told Newsweek.

And even those who do stand to benefit could invariably prioritize other issues, namely the conflict occurring in the Middle East between Israel and Palestine.

“Potential war, inflation, and a slew of other concerns are rightfully at the forefront, and attempts to forgive student debt, even if made with the best of intentions, will be viewed as shifting attention from the real issues,” Beene said.

Robert Shapiro, a professor of government and international affairs at Columbia University, echoed this sentiment, adding there’s no clear proof that student loan forgiveness has helped Biden.

“Even if students benefited and recognized Biden’s support for it, they may not be sufficiently persuaded to vote for him as opposed to another candidate or to even vote at all,” Shapiro told Newsweek.

“They may be dissatisfied with Biden’s performance on other issues—especially related to overall economic wellbeing and perceptions, the situation at the southern border, and especially among young adults and minority group voters, Biden’s support for Israel and his not helping end the deaths and casualties in Gaza and the suffering of the Gazans,” Shapiro said.

Some Americans have already been hyper-critical of Biden’s student loan forgiveness proposals after intense pro-Palestine protests erupted across campuses nationwide.

“This is the scene at Columbia University right now,” an account under the name @EndWokeness on X posted this week, along with a video of a recent scene at Columbia. “A literal cult is occupying the campus. Remember: We all paid their student debt.”

While Biden’s student debt forgiveness doesn’t usually go into effect for borrowers until years after a borrower graduates and starts making payments, some critics are upset that Biden could eventually subsidize protesters’ educations.

“The only thing that matters to @JoeBiden is appeasing his radical base. That’s why he’s ok with forcing taxpayers to pay off the loans of these pro-terrorist antisemites,” House Majority Whip Tom Emmer of Minnesota wrote on X.

So far, Biden’s student aid forgiveness applies to more than 4 million Americans. Those enrolled in the federal Saving on a Valuable Education Plan (SAVE) or people under the Income-Driven Repayment Plans and Public Service Loan Forgiveness got debt relief after adjustments to the programs, and more forgiveness is on the horizon under the new proposal.

“From day one of my administration, I promised to fight to ensure higher education is a ticket to the middle class, not a barrier to opportunity,” Biden said in a statement. “I will never stop working to cancel student debt—no matter how many times Republican elected officials try to stop us.”

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