Democrats fail to override Trump veto on student loan policy

House Democrats on Friday failed to override President Donald Trump’s veto of a measure that would have reversed the Education Department's tough policy on loan forgiveness for students misled by for-profit colleges.

The House voted 238-173 in support of the override measure, coming up short of the two-thirds majority needed to send it to the Senate.

It marks a victory for Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, whose policy on student loan forgiveness was in jeopardy after Congress voted to reverse it in March. It now remains in place and will take effect July 1.

The measure Congress approved in March would have restored a 2016 rule created by the Obama administration. The measure was approved using the Congressional Review Act, which allows Congress to overturn federal rules with a simple majority of both chambers and approval of the president.

While the original measure had bipartisan support, just six Republicans voted in favor of overriding the veto, while 172 opposed it.

In calling for the override, Democrats said DeVos' rule made it nearly impossible for cheated students to get loans canceled. They accused her of stacking the rules in favor of the for-profit college industry, which has found an ally in the Trump administration.

But Republicans said DeVos' rule is an improvement over the Obama-era policy, which they say granted loan cancellations too easily.

“Massive loan forgiveness has long been a Democrat objective and the Obama rule was a giant leap toward that goal. One that also ignored the high cost to taxpayers,” said Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., the ranking Republican on the House education committee.

The dispute stems from a policy known as borrower defense to repayment, which allows borrowers to get their federal student loans erased if their colleges...