Biden condemns Supreme Court decision on student loans, to unveil new action

© Reuters. U.S. President Joe Biden speaks about the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to strike down race-conscious student admissions programs at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina, during brief remarks in the Roosevelt Room at the White House i

By Steve Holland and Jeff Mason

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Joe Biden on Friday condemned a ruling by the Supreme Court that blocked his plan to cancel $430 billion in student loan debt and a White House source said he would announce new actions to protect student loan holders later in the day.

Biden is expected to make remarks on the issue from the White House at 3:30 p.m. EDT on Friday.

“This fight is not over. I will have more to announce when I address the nation this afternoon,” he said in a statement. “But I will stop at nothing to find other ways to deliver relief to hard-working middle-class families. My Administration will continue to work to bring the promise of higher education to every American.”

In a 6-3 decision on Friday, the Supreme Court blocked Biden’s plan to cancel $430 billion in student loan debt. The ruling, which was welcomed by Republicans, is a blow to the Democratic president. It robs him, at least for now, of the opportunity to make good on a promise he made to his supporters and dismantles a plank of his policy agenda.

The White House source said Biden will give details of an alternate plan in his remarks.

“The president will make clear he’s not done fighting yet, and will announce new actions to protect student loan borrowers,” said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Progressive voters, who are part of the coalition that helped elect Biden in 2020, long have put pressure on the White House to address student loan debt; the court’s decision intensified calls for further action.

“The President has more tools to cancel student debt – and he must use them,” Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren, a leading progressive voice, said on Twitter.

“More than 40 million hard-working Americans are waiting for the help that President Biden promised them, and they expect this administration to throw everything they’ve got into the fight until they make good on this commitment,” she said.

Progressive House Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez urged Biden to use authorities under the Higher Education Act to continue loan forgiveness before payments resume. “We still have the power to cancel and must use it, or we’re looking at an economic crisis for millions of people,” she said on Twitter.

The White House made clear it would be putting blame on Republicans for stymieing student-loan relief efforts. Biden, in his statement, blasted Republican elected officials for supporting billions of dollars in pandemic-related loans to businesses.

“And those loans were forgiven. But when it came to providing relief to millions of hard-working Americans, they did everything in their power to stop it,” he said.

Republicans argued that Biden’s initial student-loan relief plan was unconstitutional and unfair.

“Biden’s student loan bailout unfairly punished Americans who already paid off their loans, saved for college, or made a different career choice,” Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said in a statement. “Americans saw right through this desperate vote grab, and we are thankful that the Supreme Court did as well.”

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