On July 1, 2025, Nebraska Senator Pete Ricketts voted for the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which passed 50-50 with the Vice President's vote and ended federal Grad PLUS loans for new borrowers, capped Parent PLUS loans and replaced income-driven repayment with a new Repayment Assistance Plan starting July 1, 2026. The Center for American Progress estimates that borrowers moved from the SAVE plan to the new plan will see their bills increase by $2,163 on average annually, and Nebraska borrowers by $1,998 a year on average.
On June 24, 2026, Ricketts voted against taking up a resolution to overturn the Education Department rule that carries out the new loan limits (roll call 190). He had voted to confirm Education Secretary Linda McMahon and Under Secretary Nicholas Kent, whose department wrote the rule and is closing the SAVE plan.
Pete Ricketts's Votes on Student Loans and College Costs
- Ricketts Cast a Deciding Vote to End Grad PLUS Loans and Raise Payments for Low-Income Borrowers in July 2025. On July 1, 2025, Pete Ricketts voted yes on H.R. 1, which passed 50-50 with the Vice President's vote, so it would have failed without his. Since July 1, 2026, a graduate or professional student shall not be eligible to receive a Federal Direct PLUS Loan; graduate students may borrow $20,500 a year, and parents $20,000 a year per student. The new Repayment Assistance Plan will require payments from even those earning far below the poverty level and extends the maximum repayment term from the current 10-25 years to 30 years, the Institute for College Access and Success found. A single borrower earning $35,000 would have had $0 payments under the SAVE plan but will owe $88 per month under the new plan, according to the Center for American Progress. Starting with loans made July 1, 2027, borrowers who lose their jobs shall not be eligible to defer such loan for unemployment or economic hardship.
- Ricketts Voted to Keep the Education Department's Rule Carrying Out the Loan Caps in June 2026. On June 24, 2026, Ricketts voted no on taking up S.J.Res. 196, a resolution to overturn the Education Department rule establishing new loan limits for graduate students, professional students, and parents and the new repayment plan. It failed 45-52. The Center for American Progress found the graduate limits will create financing gaps for 13 percent of master’s degree borrowers and 46 percent of professional degree borrowers, forcing many borrowers to turn to more expensive private loans. The rule took effect July 1, 2026, and although a federal judge has paused the part that left nursing and some other health programs out of the higher "professional" limit, her ruling does not stop loan caps from going into effect.
- Ricketts Voted to Confirm Linda McMahon, Whose Department Restarted Collections and Is Shutting Down the SAVE Plan. On March 3, 2025, Ricketts voted to confirm Linda McMahon as Secretary of Education, and on August 1, 2025 he voted to confirm Nicholas Kent as Under Secretary in charge of student aid. In 2025 the department said it would resume collecting payments from federal student loan borrowers in default for the first time since 2020, and nearly 2 million federal student loan borrowers who applied for an income-based plan were stuck in a backlog. In March 2026 it notified 7.5 million student loan borrowers enrolled in the SAVE repayment plan that the plan would phase out. There are more than 9 million student loan borrowers currently in default, Hechinger reported.
What the Student Loan Changes Pete Ricketts Voted For Mean for Borrowers in Nebraska
- Higher payments. The Center for American Progress estimates that Nebraska borrowers moved from the SAVE plan to the new Repayment Assistance Plan will pay $1,998 a year more on average, within a national range of increases ranging from $1,428 in Kentucky to $2,981 in Maryland. By education level, the Nebraska averages are $1,796, $2,399 and $1,812 a year for borrowers with some college, a bachelor's degree and a graduate degree.
- Parents. Nebraska parents who borrow for a child's college after July 1, 2026 lose the income-based option: Parent PLUS loans that originated on or after July 1, 2026, will no longer be eligible for the ICR pathway, and new Parent PLUS borrowing is capped at $20,000 a year per student.
Frequently Asked Questions About Pete Ricketts on Student debt
What is Pete Ricketts's record on student debt under Trump?
Pete Ricketts cast one of the 50 votes that passed the 2025 law ending Grad PLUS loans, capping Parent PLUS loans and moving new borrowers to a repayment plan with terms of up to 30 years. In June 2026 he voted to keep the Education Department rule carrying out the caps, after voting to confirm Linda McMahon and Nicholas Kent, whose department restarted collections on defaulted loans and is closing the SAVE plan.
Did Pete Ricketts vote to end Grad PLUS loans?
Yes. Pete Ricketts voted for the 2025 law that ended Grad PLUS loans for new borrowers starting July 1, 2026. The new caps leave 13 percent of master’s degree borrowers and 46 percent of professional degree borrowers with financing gaps, the Center for American Progress found, so many of these borrowers must turn to more expensive private loans.
Will student loan payments go up under the new repayment plan Pete Ricketts voted for?
For many borrowers, yes: the plan Pete Ricketts voted for will require payments from even those earning far below the poverty level, and a borrower earning $35,000 who paid nothing under SAVE will owe $88 per month, the Center for American Progress found. Borrowers whose loans are made after July 1, 2027 also lose the right to pause payments for unemployment or economic hardship under the law's text.
Last updated: 2026-10-25