AFT President Randi Weingarten Slams President Trump for Vetoing Bipartisan Resolution to Protect Student Loan Borrowers

WASHINGTON—In a stunning rebuke to veterans’ groups and other borrowers struggling to repay student loans they took to attend predatory for-profit institutions, as well as to the 10 Senate Republicans who voted to protect them, President Trump signed his first domestic veto today. The resolution he vetoed seeks to overturn an Education Department rule that makes it harder for borrowers to prove their colleges defrauded them and seek loan forgiveness from the federal government. The veto marks the president’s ongoing choice to side with Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and her corporate cronies instead of with students, average voters and working people. AFT President Randi Weingarten issued the following statement:

“Just once, we’d love to see Donald Trump make good on his word and stand up for the people he promised to stand up for when he ran for president. Students across this country—including thousands who admirably served in the military—were handed a raw deal when these bogus, for-profit colleges preyed on their desire to earn a degree, then left them drowning in debt with very little to show for it.

“Imagine trying to support a family, buy a home or earn a legitimate degree with this dark cloud of debt haunting your every move. With this veto, this administration chose profiteers over veterans and students. And as our economy reels from the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the administration has made it harder to protect those working to achieve a college diploma, saddling them with more bureaucracy and more debt.

“What a shame that in this climate of great political division, when 10 Senate Republicans—many in vulnerable seats—showed bipartisanship and chose veterans and students over unscrupulous for-profit colleges, Betsy Devos and Donald Trump wouldn’t follow suit. This is a ‘which side are you on’ moment, and this administration has made its decision quite clear.”