Biden administration weighs in on student loan forgiveness lawsuits
MSNBCJan 06, 2023
The Facts
The conservative-majority US Supreme Court (SCOTUS) on Tuesday voiced skepticism over whether it’s within Pres. Joe Biden’s authority to implement his plan for student loan forgiveness by treating it as part of the COVID emergency.
This case was brought by six Republican-led states. SCOTUS is scheduled to hear a second case brought by two individual borrowers.
The Spin
Democratic narrative
The GOP and those suing to repeal Biden’s loan forgiveness plan are doing it to block the president’s agenda while knowing full well the benefits it would have. The secretary of education has the right to provide debt relief in the face of national emergencies, like the COVID pandemic, and SCOTUS should prevent the Republicans’ obstruction.
Republican narrative
Biden’s plan to cancel student loan debt is not just irresponsible, it's unconstitutional. The executive branch does not have the power to spend $400B of taxpayer money without Congressional approval. Hopefully, this program is struck down and a constitutional way to address the bloated cost of higher education is found.
Nerd narrative
There’s a 38% chance that the US will forgive $10,000 of federal student loans per person before 2024, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
