“I will sue”: Jena Griswold says she would fight Trump rollbacks on student loan forgiveness
FoxTalk asked attorney general candidates at DemFest what they would do to help Colorado students with student debt. Griswold pointed to lawsuits, while other candidates talked about loan servicers, for-profit schools and the price of higher education.
DENVER. Jena Griswold said she would use the Colorado attorney general’s office to fight any Trump administration attempt to roll back student loan forgiveness.
FoxTalk asked Griswold and other Democratic attorney general candidates at DemFest what they would do to help Colorado students deal with student debt and misleading college costs.
“I will sue the Trump administration for anything they do to try to roll back loan forgiveness,” Griswold said. “I think the whole industry, the whole idea that you go in so much debt to get an education, is just so unsustainable.”
Griswold, Colorado’s secretary of state, is running for attorney general in the Democratic primary. The attorney general does not set college tuition, but the office can sue, investigate and enforce consumer protection laws involving student loan servicers, debt collectors, for-profit schools and misleading financial practices.
Griswold’s answer focused on federal student loan forgiveness and litigation. She said she would “fight for students” if federal policy changes threatened borrowers.
Hetal Doshi, another Democratic candidate for attorney general, gave a broader answer. She said Colorado should look not only at student debt after graduation, but also at why tuition and financing costs keep rising.
Doshi said the state should examine “the way that the financing and rate structures are set” and ask why tuition increases happen year after year without clear transparency.
“It is unconscionable that our youngest, brightest minds are entering the workforce saddled with $100,000, $200,000, $300,000 of debt in a market where AI seeks to supplant a lot of those entry-level jobs,” Doshi said. “It is a perfect storm.”
Doshi said the next attorney general needs both economic experience and national legal experience to handle the issue.
David Seligman, a workers’ rights attorney also running for attorney general, gave the bluntest answer on tuition.
“First of all, we need tuition-free college,” Seligman said.
Seligman said the attorney general’s office should crack down on “scammy for-profit schools” and student loan servicers. He said some companies profit while borrowers are denied access to programs such as public service loan forgiveness or face unlawful debt collection practices.
“We’re going to have to lead that charge right here in Colorado,” Seligman said.
