Kansas GOP gubernatorial nominee bashes student loan forgiveness, turns blind eye to running mate’s PPP loans

Derek Schmidt, the Republican nominee for governor in Kansas, has voiced his displeasure with President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness. But he has failed to mention his running mate’s connection to Paycheck Protection Program loan forgiveness.

After news broke of Biden’s plan to forgive up to $20,000 of student loan debt per qualified borrower, Schmidt took to Twitter to criticize Biden’s action.

“Forgiving student loans is unfair to students who have paid off their loans; unfair to students who have chosen less expensive community college options; unfair to taxpayers,” Schmidt tweeted.

“Forgiving student loans is unfair to students who have paid off their loans; unfair to students who have chosen less expensive community college options; unfair to taxpayers…” https://t.co/aA4VsvsauB

— Derek Schmidt (@DerekSchmidtKS) August 26, 2022

But the husband of Schmidt’s would-be lieutenant governor Katie Sawyer had over $40,000 of Paycheck Protection Plan (PPP) loans forgiven last year, records from the U.S. Small Business Administration show. These loans were distributed for Derek Sawyer’s cattle farm in McPherson.

Congress created the Paycheck Protection Program in 2020 to aid small businesses in maintaining their payrolls and hiring back workers who were laid off during the COVID-19 pandemic. Several lawmakers scrutinized the Biden administration for student loan forgiveness but downplayed their own benefits from the PPP loan forgiveness.

Schmidt currently serves as the attorney general of Kansas and is facing incumbent Democrat Laura Kelly in November. During a recent debate, Schmidt attempted to downplay Kansas voters preserving abortion rights by saying the vote “does not mean the discussion has ended. What was not on the ballot was Gov. Kelly’s position.”