- Psaki said canceling a student loan on Biden’s potential executive order was “still on the table.”
- A White House spokesman made the comments during the Pod Save America podcast.
- The Biden administration has extended the break for the repayment of federal student loans until August 31.
Loading Something is loading.
White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said on Friday that President Joe Biden’s use of enforcement action to cancel some federal student loan debt was “still on the table” and a decision likely to be made in the coming months.
Speaking on the podcast Pod Save America, Psaki – who reportedly left her post this spring for a role on MSNBC – told hosts John Favreau and Dan Pfeiffer that Biden’s thinking on the issue was not yet finalized.
“Yes, still at the table, still at the table,” she said of the cancellation of a student loan in response to earlier statements by White House chief of staff Ron Klein about payment breaks.
Earlier this month, the Biden administration extended the federal pause to repay student loans until Aug. 31, giving borrowers an additional four months from the previous reboot date of May 1.
Psaki referred to the date of August 31, stating that the decision will have to be made in view of this schedule.
“Then we have to decide if it’s extended,” she said. “No one has had to pay a dollar or a cent, nothing in student loans since Joe Biden was president.
She continued: “If this can help people alleviate the burden of spending in other parts of their lives, this is an important thing to consider. This is a big part of the considerations. So between now and August 31, it will either be extended or we will decide, as Ron mentioned, to cancel the student debt. “
The pressure to forgive student debts
Although Biden has long said that, ideally, a broad repeal should come from Congress, many lawmakers are not optimistic that such legislation could be passed in the Senate by 50-50, especially with the 60 votes needed to overcome discontent.
The White House continued to push for a more lasting solution.
“This is the thing with executive actions – you can go back and forth and turn them over, and obviously we want something in each of these cases when it’s more permanent,” Psaki said during the conversation.
Student loan payments – first frozen for most borrowers in 2020 by then-President Donald Trump at the start of the coronavirus pandemic – have become a major hurdle for many progressive Democrats who have claimed since the president’s term that he has ample freedom to clear his student loan debt.
As the midterm elections approach, many Democrats are becoming increasingly concerned that Biden’s inaction in canceling a student loan – including refusing to forgive up to $ 10,000 per borrower – could hit younger voters in the November election.
Biden has seen his support among millennials in recent months, and Generations X and Z are declining sharply compared to his stronger position among the silent generation and baby boom.
The White House seems more open to him than ever
Senior politicians, including Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, along with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Ayana Presley of Massachusetts, all called for Biden to cancel up to $ 50,000 in student loan debt on each loan.
On Wednesday, Sumer, the leader of the Senate majority, reaffirmed his view that Biden had the ability to use executive orders to eliminate federal student loan debt, and said the White House was “more open” to wide-ranging than in the past.
“Make no mistake: this break will not last forever, and canceling student debt is the way to go,” the veteran MP said.
Sumer added: “We are working on this. We are making progress, people. We are making progress. The White House seems more open to it than ever.”
Add Comment