The comedian and commentator Greg Gutfeld had it right on The Five. Referring to the deportation saga of the El Salvadoran Kilmar Abrego Garcia, he said of the Left:
It was really easy for Democrats to open the floodgates and be seen as the heroes. Look how compassionate we are. It's always going to be harder to send them back. And you're going to be treated like a villain every single step of the way. Because adults fix the problems that children cause. And sometimes the adults have to do big stuff to fix the big problems that were caused by Democrats who are, in this case, the children.
Gutfeld's point echoed again this week when the Trump Department of Education was cast as a villain for announcing that the federal government would pursue students who had not repaid their education loans thanks to the reckless actions of the Biden administration. U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said in a statement:
Going forward, the Department of Education, in conjunction with the Department of Treasury, will shepherd the student loan program responsibly and according to the law, which means helping borrowers return to repayment—both for the sake of their own financial health and our nation's economic outlook.
Recall that President Biden was the "hero" who campaigned in 2020 to forgive millions in student loans. The "hero" then went about granting relief to the tune of over $400 billion, even as America struggled under mounting debt. Biden had only one answer to every problem: borrow and spend and share the largesse with his supporters.
An education loan is unlike any other. Students, who are usually just coming out of high school, do not have the collateral to borrow money from a bank. If a borrower defaults, bank investors cannot repossess collateral, like an automobile or a home.
However, students also show enormous promise as future citizens of the United States. Invest in them, trust them to repay their loans, and the students will be grateful for the timely financial help that allowed them to pursue their dreams. A college degree enables them to become fruitful members of society by earning more money than they otherwise could have had they not gone to college. Studies have repeatedly shown that students who pursue a college education will earn more money during their lifetime than people who don't. When they repay the American taxpayer, everybody is better off. This arrangement relies on trust and keeps the deal whole.
For decades, going back to the 1980s, this system worked extraordinarily well. Students could get loans from private banks with a backstop from the government in the form of loan guarantees. The idea was that if a borrower failed to repay a loan issued by a private bank and the bank's collection efforts failed, then—and only then—would the federal government step in to reimburse the bank for its losses. Under such a private-public partnership system, Biden could never have issued executive orders to forgive $400 billion of loans.
The Obama administration sowed the seeds for Biden's actions. Obama pushed a weary Congress to pass a law that made the Education Department the country's largest lender, directly making loans to students from the Treasury. It was an earth-shattering move by Obama to make a "Change We Can Believe In," even if such a change drove America to near-bankruptcy.
Only 38 percent of borrowers are in repayment and current on their student loans. Most of the remaining borrowers are either delinquent on their payments, in an interest-free forbearance, or in an interest-free deferment. It is unconscionable that millions of students who took out loans have not made monthly payments since March 2020—practically three years after the pandemic officially ended—because Biden allowed them to pause. These same Americans have been going about their everyday lives, making payments on their auto loans and mortgages because no private bank would extend the same relief to them. The same cannot be said about the federal government, which can continue to operate indefinitely in the red without consequences.
Under our Constitution, all spending bills must originate in the House of Representatives and be approved by the Senate. However, Biden never sought congressional approval for his spending plans, as he issued executive orders that directly impacted the federal budget. The federal courts found that Biden had grossly overstepped his powers by writing off such large amounts. The case went all the way to the Supreme Court, which forbade President Biden from continuing his various loan repayment programs that were repayment-only in name. Practically every program was a massive forbearance proposal that absolved student borrowers from honoring their debt obligations.
For all the hue and cry the media is expressing today about how President Trump's administration is repeatedly disobeying federal court orders—for not turning away illegal immigrants or for not returning Garcia to Maryland—the press was completely silent when the Biden administration was trying to retire further loans perhaps because many in the press were directly benefiting from the Biden administration's actions.
This week, the Trump Department of Education announced that the merry days of not paying back loans are over. There will be no loan forbearance, and all the money borrowed is due back to the Department of the Treasury. American students owe a staggering $1.6 trillion to the Treasury.
We have written multiple editorials in these pages criticizing the loan forbearance programs as political bribes and kickbacks to students who had voted for Biden. We wrote our first piece in June 2022, before Biden even officially announced his intentions. And we are glad today that the Trump administration is correcting an egregious policy error.
Like in the case of the 18 million illegal alien invasions, the "Hero" Biden acted for political expediency and convenience, but the "Villain" Trump is bringing order back to the country. You will find no thank-you's from the liberal media for President Trump's actions to help save America, only criticisms and resistance.
TIPP Picks
Selected articles from tippinsights.com and more
1. A Tale Of Two Presidents’ Deportation Records—Editorial Board, Issues & Insights
2. History’s Biggest Liars?—Editorial Board, Issues & Insights
3. Don’t Rule Out a US-Iran Nuclear Deal Just Yet—Richard Haass, Project Syndicate
4. Voters Align With Trump On DEI, ‘Transgender’ Bans: I&I/TIPP Poll—Terry Jones. TIPP Insights
5. Gabbard Goes After Intel Leakers: ‘That Ends Now’—TIPP Staff, TIPP Insights
6. Trump: “I Made 200 Tariff Deals”—TIPP Staff, TIPP Insights
7. George Santos Gets Over 7 Years In Prison For Campaign Fraud—TIPP Staff, TIPP Insights
8. FBI Nabs Milwaukee Judge Over Alleged Interference In Immigration Case—TIPP Staff, TIPP Insights
9. Vance: "Lawless Judges Overruling Will Of The People"—TIPP Staff, TIPP Insights
10. World Leaders Gather For Pope’s Funeral; Trump Plans ‘Many Meetings’—TIPP Staff, TIPP Insights
11. China Repeats: No Tariff Talks With Trump Administration—TIPP Staff, TIPP Insights
12. Witkoff Holds Fourth Meeting With Putin—TIPP Staff, TIPP Insights
13. Gavin Newsom Begs Regulators To Keep Refineries In Biz After California Dems Ran Industry Out Of Town—Nick Pope, DCNF
14. Brit Hume Says Trump’s First 100 Days In Polls Are ‘Underwater In All But One’ Issue—Mariane Angela, DCNF
15. ‘You Were Complicit’: Tom Homan Has Eight Questions For Democrats Who Traveled To See Abrego Garcia—Hailey Gomez, DCNF
16. Gavin Newsom Crossed The Line, And Now He’s Paying The Price—Mary Rooke, DCNF
17. Trump Just Gave People With Useless Degrees A Huge Reality Check—Natalie Sandoval, DCNF
18. The Menace Of “Public” Education—Llewellyn H. Rockwell Jr., Mises Wire
19. Whatever Happened To The Green New Deal?—William L. Anderson, Mises Wire
20. Trump The Inflationist: He Wants More Easy Money From The Fed—Ryan McMaken, Mises Wire
21. Stop The US Abuse Of Cuba—Jacob G. Hornberger, Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity
22. War Dust And Collateral Inhalation: Israel Breathes In Gaza’s Dust—Dennis J. Kucinich, Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity
23. ‘This Is Life And Death For The House Republican Party’: Newt Gingrich Says GOP Must Get Act Together Before July 4—Mariane Angela, DCNF
24. ‘Can I Finish My Freaking Statement?’: CNN Host Won’t Let Scott Jennings, Shermichael Singleton Make Their Point—Harold Hutchison, DCNF
