Earlier this month, President Joe Biden and the White House administration announced another plan to provide relief to borrowers disproportionately burdened by student debt. This move comes at a sensitive time, amid the heated presidential campaign, when other major issues seem to affect his popularity among voters. Currently, the presumptive Republican candidate for president, Donald Trump, leads President Biden in many states, including key battleground states like Arizona, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and others.
The major issue for Biden
Illegal immigration is the biggest problem for Biden and his administration. Since President Biden took office in January 2021, the foreign-born population has grown by 4.5 million—larger than the individual populations of 25 U.S. states. Based on some prior estimates of illegal immigrants, more than half (2.5 million) of the 4.5 million increase in the foreign-born population since January 2021 is likely due to illegal immigration. Adjusting for those not included in the Center for Immigration Studies’ survey, the increase would be more substantial.
Growing concerns among voters
The issue of illegal immigration has now become a major problem for millions of Americans across the nation, including those living in states and areas that are not directly affected by the issue. According to The Hill, which has currently combined the results of more than 650 polls, Trump has a slight edge over Biden in the likely November rematch. What’s even more concerning for Biden is the fact that Trump has a lead in six battleground states that are expected to be decisive in the race.
The achievements
The Biden administration has also had significant achievements since taking office in January 2021. The COVID-19 $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package to address the impact of the pandemic and the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package are some important steps in boosting the economy and helping individuals and businesses overcome the difficult post-pandemic period. These packages, however, impacted prices on all goods and services, resulting in skyrocketing inflation.
Canceling student debt for millions of Americans
The Supreme Court last summer invalidated President Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan, derailing a major campaign pledge from the president and denying relief to 40 million Americans who stood to benefit from the program. In a 6-3 decision, the court’s conservative majority found that federal law does not authorize the program to wipe out nearly half a trillion dollars in debt. After the ruling, the White House office released a statement finding the court’s decision “wrong” and promising that “[t]his fight is not over.”
Another attempt
And the White House stood by their words and will try to by-pass the initial Supreme Court ruling. Earlier this month, the Biden administration proposed a new plan to slash student loan debt for more than 30 million borrowers. The plan announced Monday would affect those with “runaway interest,” borrowers who have been paying on loans for 20 years, and those who qualify for income-driven repayment plans.
The White House estimates the plan could eliminate accrued interest on 23 million borrowers’ unpaid balances. It’s the latest attempt by President Biden to cancel student debt after the Supreme Court blocked his sweeping debt cancellation plan last year.
Speaker Johnson attacked Biden for buying votes
Bringing the issue once again to the table has also sparked a lot of debate. President Biden and the WH administration are accused of attempting to win the support of the voters when Biden is having trouble winning key voter groups. One of those directly attacking Biden is Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, who slammed Biden on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Aggressive comments
“The Supreme Court has already determined that the White House does not have the authority to ‘cancel’ student loan debt, and yet the administration is once again trying to buy votes by supposedly ‘forgiving’ millions of dollars in loan debt,” Johnson said on X in a post where he shared the White House Student Debt program announcement.
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Then he continued, “The reality is that these debts are not ‘forgiven,’ they are merely transferred to American taxpayers, many of whom made sacrifices to get an education they could afford. It is only just and fair for borrowers, not the American people, to be responsible for paying off their own debts.”
The Supreme Court has already determined that the White House does not have the authority to ‘cancel’ student loan debt, and yet the administration is once again trying to buy votes by supposedly ‘forgiving’ millions of dollars in loan debt.
The reality is that these debts are… https://t.co/6U1pJeqcM9— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) April 9, 2024
