President Joe Biden’s unilateral move to implement a student loan forgiveness plan that “will include at least $10,000 in loan forgiveness for borrowers who make less than $125,000 annually, as well as another payment freeze for roughly four months” has understandably set off a firestorm nationwide, with Republicans lining up to express their outrage over Biden doing a dictatorial end run around Congress.
But Republicans aren’t the only ones ripping Biden. He’s also faced intense criticism from some surprising corners, including from Rep. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.) who as we previously reported said on Wednesday that “This announcement by President Biden is no way to make policy and sidesteps Congress and our oversight and fiscal responsibilities.”
“Any plan to address student debt should go through the legislative process, and it should be more targeted and paid for so it doesn’t add to the deficit,” Pappas, who is said to beIn a difficult reelection fight, it was also declared.
He wasn’t alone. Rep. Tim Ryan (D.Ohio), the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate was able to make his case as a Republican.
“Waiving debt for those already on a trajectory to financial security sends the wrong message to the millions of Ohioans without a degree working just as hard to make ends meet,” he said.
Complete statement
Tim Ryan, through his congressional office, made an interesting statement about student loan forgiveness
This is almost as if he were running a Senate race to attract middle-of the-road voters. pic.twitter.com/83xzhHUyNg
— Haley BeMiller (@haleybemiller) August 24, 2022
Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto told a local outlet in Nevada, “I don’t agree with today’s executive action because it doesn’t address the root problems that make college affordable.”
Her opponent in the race is Republican Adam Laxalt, who will challenge her in November.
Maine Democratic Rep. Jared Golden also had a harsh response to Biden’s plan.
“This decision by the president is out of touch with what the majority of the American people want from the White House, which is leadership to address the most immediate challenges the country is facing,” Golden, whose faces Republican opponent and former Rep. Bruce Poliquin in the midterms in a red-leaning district, said according to Bangor Daily News.
And in a lengthy thread on Twitter, Jason Furman – who was former President Barack Obama’s Chair of Economic Advisors – went off:
Ridiculous to throw half a billion dollars of fuel on an already inflamed inflationary fire is not the answer. Even worse is doing it with a promise of $10K in student loan relief and not fulfilling another campaign promise (all promises fulfilled).
— Jason Furman (@jasonfurman) August 24, 2022
“There are a number of other highly problematic impacts including encouraging higher tuition in the future, encouraging more borrowing, creating expectations of future debt forgiveness, and more,” Furman also noted.
Furman’s rant was on top of the criticism Biden faced over his plan from Obama-Biden Treasury Sec. Lawrence Summers, who didn’t have anything good to say about it.
Even Washington Post editors who are Democratic supporters of Biden slammed him:
It is worse to make a loan-forgiveness determination. It is not a good idea to cancel student loan debt. The broader tax base, which is mostly comprised of those who didn’t go to college, takes money to pay for the education debts of individuals with high-quality degrees. Though Mr. Biden’s plan includes an income cap, the threshold does not reflect need or earnings potential, meaning white-collar professionals with high future salaries stand to benefit.
CNN columnist Catherine Rampell (also a WaPo columnist) spoke against the Republican Party. Rampell is an expert on taxes and economics and is not a big fan of Republicans.
CNN’s @crampellBiden’s scam with student loans: This is an extremely expensive and inexpensive way to solve a problem. It ends up giving money to people who really don’t need it. pic.twitter.com/Hux1gDhEoX
— Kevin Tober (@KevinTober94) August 25, 2022
“I feel like this is sort of a problem, this is my issue with a lot of Progressive policy approaches right now, that this approach of sort of like, spending a lot of money, and hoping some of it ends up in the right hands of the needy,” she went on to say.
Not mentioned in any of the Republican or Democrat criticisms of Biden was the word “impeachment,” which should definitely be on the table considering Biden does not have the authority to carry out this plan, contra to the Dept. Education.
Maybe we’ll hear calls for it after November, assuming Republicans retake the House and Senate. Because if the nation’s chief executive usurping Congress’ authority in an attempt to buy off voters ahead of a crucial election is not an impeachable offense, I don’t know what is.
Related: The One Video Clip on Student Loan Forgiveness Republicans Should Run From Now ‘Til November
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