Harris is shying away from promises on student loan forgiveness as debt cancellation loses its political luster

At a campaign rally in April, President Biden told a crowd in Wisconsin about his latest “life-changing” student loan cancellation plan, which promised financial relief for more than 30 million Americans.

But Vice President Harris has left the issue out of her political events since replacing Mr Biden as the Democratic nominee for president. The vice president’s platform mentions it only twice, and without a specific plan. In her pursuit of moderate voters, Ms. Harris has focused on policies aimed at Americans without college degrees.

“For too long, our country has encouraged only one path to success: a four-year college degree,” Ms. Harris said in September in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. “Our nation must recognize the value of other paths.”

In just a few years, student loan elimination has gone from a Democratic Party mainstay to a political imperative. Once seen as a surefire way to energize young voters, the issue has now become a sticking point for critics who say it benefits elites at the expense of those who have paid back their loans or not attended college.

The issue came up only once during the presidential debate in September, when President Trump criticized Ms. Harris and Mr. Biden for not making good on their promise of widespread cancellation. The former president called it a “total catastrophe” that “mobbed young people.”

“They didn’t even come close to getting their student loans canceled,” Trump said.

Mr. Biden, who once questioned the legality of massive student loan forgiveness, campaigned on the issue after liberals like Senator Sanders made it a mainstream idea. But as president, Mr. Biden has faced relentless challenges from Republican opponents. For the approximately 42 million people with federal student loans, hope for forgiveness has turned to resignation and disillusionment.

Biden’s first plan to cancel up to $20,000 for millions of people was blocked by the Supreme Court last year. A second, more limited plan has been halted by a federal judge after Republican-led states filed a lawsuit. A separate policy intended to lower loan payments for some borrowers has been suspended by a judge, even after Republican-controlled states challenged it.

On Friday, the Biden administration moved forward with another attempt at student loan cancellation, this one aimed at Americans facing heavy financial burdens beyond their student loans. The country faces an uncertain future, arriving less than two weeks before the November 5 elections.

The legal uncertainty likely contributed to Ms. Harris putting less emphasis on the cancellation, said Michelle Dimino, director of an education program at the think tank Third Way. It’s also an issue her base is familiar with, she added.

“There’s not much new she can offer before we know what will happen in court,” Ms. Dimino said. When Mr. Biden first pitched a broad cancellation, it was something that had not yet been attempted. “Now it is a completely different landscape than in 2020, when it was a blank slate.”

Ms. Harris’ silence also signals the political risks, especially in a close election. Any new loan cancellation promises would energize Republicans, who have made it a rallying cry. For voters who could benefit from the cancellation, it’s a promise they’ve heard before.

“The Harris campaign has realized that this is not necessarily a winning political issue,” said Preston Cooper, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. “The student loan agenda is in tatters and hasn’t really helped them win votes.”

Even moderate Americans seem skeptical about student loan forgiveness. A June survey by the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy and the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that 3 in 10 American adults said they approved of Mr. Biden’s work on student debt, and that wasn’t much better. among those who repay loans. Just over half of Democrats said they support the president’s job, while 18 percent of independents said the same.

The Harris campaign declined to provide details or answer questions about her cancellation plan.

Her platform only mentions student loans after a full page of policies targeting workers without a degree. At the September meeting in Pennsylvania, Ms. Harris drew applause when she said she would eliminate unnecessary degree requirements for federal jobs. She made no mention of student loans in her 20-minute speech.

“Requiring a certain degree doesn’t necessarily indicate someone’s skills,” Ms. Harris told the audience at Wilkes University, a private university in northeastern Pennsylvania.

Ms. Harris’ comments reflect a traditional Republican talking point that is increasingly being embraced by Democrats as more Americans question the value of a college degree.

“Student loan forgiveness may alienate some of the support Harris hopes to gain from the non-college educated,” said Andrew Gillen, a researcher at the Libertarian Cato Institute’s Center for Educational Freedom. “These types of polarizing topics poison the well for other issues supported by both parties. Once issues like student loan forgiveness settle down, I think we’ll see a lot more of that bipartisan agreement emerge.”

In his platform, Trump said he will “support the creation of additional, dramatically cheaper alternatives to a traditional four-year college degree.” There is no mention of loans. Trump has opposed the cancellation, saying it is illegal.

“President Trump will implement real solutions to make education, housing and the cost of living affordable again for young people so they can achieve the American dream,” said Karoline Leavittt, a national press secretary for Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign.

As attorney general in California, Ms. Harris led efforts to punish for-profit colleges for defrauding borrowers. As a presidential candidate in 2019, she proposed a narrower path to loan forgiveness than those of Sanders and Senator Warren. Harris’ plan would have provided $20,000 in aid to any federal Pell Grant recipient who started a business in an underserved community and kept it going for three years.