- ‘I think the court misinterpreted the constitution,’ Biden said of Supreme Court
- Court ruled 6-3 that his loan forgiveness program is unconstitutional
- Biden outlined new program that he says will make debt repayments easier
President Joe Biden on Friday charged the Supreme Court with misinterpreting the U.S. Constitution when it struck down his $400 billion student loan forgiveness program and accused Republicans of snatching away people’s hope with their hypocrisy on the issue.
In remarks at the White House, Biden said he was ‘angry’ about the decision but outlined several executive actions he was taking to help make it easier for borrowers to pay off their debts.
He said his new plans would save borrowers $1,000 a year, cap monthly payments at 5 percent of discretionary income a month, and forgive loan balances after ten years of repayments.
A defiant Biden argued he didn’t give people ‘false hope’ with his $400 billion program that would have canceled $10,000 in student loan debt for those making less than $125,000 or households with less than $250,000 in income.
Supreme Court justices ruled 6-3 on Friday that Biden’s proposal to wipe out debts for 26 million Americans at taxpayers’ expense was unconstitutional and an overreach of his executive power.
The landmark ruling on the final day of the Supreme Court’s term comes 24 hours after the justices decided colleges could no longer use race as a consideration in admissions in a case that sparked backlash from Biden.
Biden was scathing in his response. He repeatedly leaned over the podium as he spoke and dropped his voice to a whisper – a tactic he takes when he wants to make a point.
‘I didn’t give any false hope,’ Biden snapped when a reporter asked him if he misled borrowers.
‘The question was whether or not I would do even more than what was requested. What I did I thought was appropriate and was able to be done and would get done. I didn’t give borrowers false. But the Republicans snatched away the hope that they were given, and it’s real. Real hope.’
He slammed the justices for their ruling: ‘I think the court misinterpreted the constitution.’
And he accused Republican of hypocrisy, arguing many GOP lawmakers took advantage of pandemic-related relief programs for their own business debt.
‘Members of Congress who strongly opposed giving relief to students got hundreds of thousands of dollars themselves in relief because of the businesses they were able to keep open. Several Members of Congress got over a million dollars. All those loans are forgiven. You know how much that program cost? $760 billion. My program is too expensive?,’ he said.
‘Hypocrisy is stunning,’ he added.
Biden on giving those w/ student loans false hope: "I didn't give any false hope" pic.twitter.com/r5wLpy4jUM
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) June 30, 2023
Narrator: No, it was actually the opposite. The Biden presidency substituted itself for the Congress and rightfully got smacked down https://t.co/WvqE524cIP
— Kyle Becker (@kylenabecker) June 30, 2023
