While most Democrats have rallied around President Biden’s plan to forgive hundreds of billions of dollars in student debt, a handful of his fellow party members — notably, some facing tough re-election battles — have openly questioned the wisdom and politics of a move that on its face appears to be a handout to affluent Americans at the expense of everyone else. 

The latest to come out against the policy is a top former adviser to President Clinton, Paul Begala, a man with impeccable progressive credentials. Speaking on CNN over the weekend, he sounded almost flabbergasted by Mr. Biden’s decision.

“For that amount of money, you could fund free pre-K for every 3- and 4-year-old for 10 years,” Mr. Begala said on the “State of the Union” show. “You’d do a lot more good for poor people, communities of color, and the underprivileged by doing pre-K. You could forgive all medical debt, which unlike student debt is not freely entered into.

“I’m a progressive. I want to help folks,” he added. “What is my party doing with this? … They are not helping the people we are here to help, the poor people and underprivileged communities. And they are not helping their politicians who are running.”

Mr. Begala rattled off the names of a number of prominent Democrats, some of them in tough midterm races, who expressed concern last week about the politics of the policy.

Among those he cited were an incumbent senator of Nevada, Catherine Cortez Masto, who is barely ahead of Republican Adam Paul Laxalt in her race for re-election, and Senator Bennett of Colorado, who is running against Republican Joe O’Dea in the November election.

Mr. Bennett said last week that he would have further targeted the relief effort and avoided the one-time debt cancellation, which he said does nothing to solve the underlying problems plaguing America’s system of higher education.

“We need to reform the system that got us here in the first place with solutions to bring down the absurd cost of college. We cannot continue to trap another generation of Americans in this cruel cycle,” Mr. Bennett said. “And we need to continue our work to build career pathways to economic security for every American, including those who choose not to pursue a two- or four-year degree.”

Mr. Biden last week announced a plan to erase up to $10,000 worth of debt — $20,000 in the case of some low-income students — for many of the roughly 40 million who borrowed money to pay for college. The plan also envisions expanding income-based repayment plans that some experts believe incentivize students to borrow more, and extending a 2-year-old Covid-related moratorium on monthly payments on some $1.6 trillion in debt.

Although the White House has not estimated how much the program will cost or how it will be paid for, independent assessments put the total price tag at between $400 billion and $600 billion, and perhaps as high as $1 trillion, over the next decade. 

Congressman Tim Ryan, who is facing J.D. Vance in Ohio’s tight Senate race, also came out in opposition to Mr. Biden’s plan. It “sends the wrong message to the millions of Ohioans without a degree working just as hard to make ends meet,” he said Sunday.

“There’s a lot of people out there making $30, $40 grand a year that didn’t go to college. And they need help as well, which is why I’ve been proposing a tax cut for working people that will affect everybody,” Mr. Ryan said on the same program on which Mr. Begala appeared. “With the student loan piece [in my proposal], you could very easily allow them to negotiate — renegotiate down the interest rates.”

“We’re not saying that there’s not a significant burden here. The cost of college is outrageous. But there’s nothing in here to control that cost,” Mr. Ryan added. “I think we can get a significant way down the road by allowing them to renegotiate down the interest rates and put some money in their pockets.”