One of the main initiatives that President Joe Biden planned to carry out has recently been struck down by the United States Supreme Court. Although the current president campaigned on the promise of canceling the student loans of more than 40 million borrowers, the supreme court ruled that this issue exceeds the power of President Biden.
Overview
The vote to cancel Biden’s student debt relief program was approved by a score of 6-3, with six Republican justices voting to slash the program and three Democrat justices voting the opposite. While writing for the Supreme Court during this hearing, Chief Justice John Roberts stated that the Biden administration was “seizing the power of the legislature” by trying to cancel a plethora of student debt.
The President Faces Pressure
There are many lawmakers and other loan-cancellation advocates that will most likely put pressure on Joe Biden to come through on his promises and find another way to provide student loan relief. But as of now, cancellation of student debt is not something the president can say he delivered on when it comes time to run for reelection.
Continuing the Fight
Currently, student loan repayments are expected to resume in late August this summer, after a three-year moratorium. However, there are members of Congress that are urging the president to continue in his fight to cancel student loan debts. Elizabeth Warren is a Democratic senator from Massachusetts who fully supports canceling student loans. She said in a statement, “This fight is not over. The president has more tools to cancel student debt — and he must use them.”
Against Student Loan Cancelation
“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 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.”
President Biden & the Supreme Court
This is not the first time that the Republican-controlled Supreme Court has put a damper on the plans of President Biden. During the pandemic, the court also ruled against Biden’s plan to require U.S. workers to get Covid 19 vaccines. Additionally, the president also tried to block people from getting evicted during the pandemic, but this was also struck down by the Supreme Court.
Wrap Up
Since he was campaigning for his presidency in 2020, cancelling student loan debt was always one of Joe Biden’s main topics of conversation. After this recent ruling however, the president is going to have to act fast in order to find an alternative solution. If not, borrowers will be paying back their debts as soon as August.