President Joe Biden has repeatedly ignored court rulings and the opinions of lawmakers — including some in his own party — that determined he does not have the authority to unilaterally erase college student loan debt.
Following a U.S. Supreme Court decision last year shooting down his initial plan to forgive loans, he bragged about ignoring the judicial precedent.
Claiming that “MAGA Republicans” and “special interest” groups were behind the attack on his unconstitutional efforts, Biden said: “The Supreme Court blocked it, but that didn’t stop me.”
Since then, he has announced additional plans to erase debt for various groups of borrowers, most recently focusing on “racial equity” as a deciding factor for whom he would bestow the relief. In announcing the latest ploy, he cited an amendment to the 1965 Higher Education Act in an attempt to promote his dubious executive authority.
“Today’s announcement lays out the plans the Biden-Harris Administration is pursuing through that effort,” the White House announcement stated. “In total, these plans would fully eliminate accrued interest for 23 million borrowers, would cancel the full amount of student debt for over 4 million borrowers, and provide more than 10 million borrowers with at least $5,000 in debt relief or more.”
As with other programs throughout the Biden administration, skin color plays a central role in the distribution of taxpayer-funded largesse. According to the White House, “Black and Latino borrowers will get substantial benefits from this relief” based on the claim that these groups have been saddled with “disproportionately high debt burdens.”
Among those now eligible for partial or complete loan forgiveness are those who have been paying for at least 20 years, currently owe more than they borrowed, or attended institutions that have closed, were deemed ineligible for federal student aid programs or denied recertification.
U.S. Undersecretary of Education James Kvaal celebrated the move, claiming: “These historic steps reflect President Biden’s determination that we cannot allow student debt to leave students worse off than before they went to college.”
Of course, it was not just the Supreme Court that has challenged Biden’s authority to forgive student loans.
RE-UPPING (again):
“People think that the president of the United States has the power for [student loan] debt forgiveness. He DOES NOT.”
— Nancy Pelosi (2022)pic.twitter.com/0iz8uQeKXG
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) April 8, 2024
“The president can’t do it,” determined then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) in 2021.
“That’s not even a discussion.”
