I’ll be the first to admit it’s not easy to acknowledge when you’re wrong. That apparently goes for the president of the United States, too.
All eyes are on the former president, Donald Trump, this week as he faces arraignment following his second indictment, this time related to his handling of classified documents.
That doesn’t mean we should give Joe Biden a pass on scrutiny.
Last week, Biden vetoed legislation − a bill that had some Democratic support − that would have ended his unilateral $400 billion student loan “forgiveness” plan. He missed the perfect opportunity to distance himself from a proposal that the U.S. Supreme Court is likely to strike down as unconstitutional. The decision is expected before the end of the month.
I’m guessing Biden’s pride got in the way.
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Starting during his 2020 campaign, Biden has made some form of student loan cancellation central to his presidency. And pressure from progressives pushed Biden to offer even more freebies than he had initially promised.
Rather than go through Congress for such a large expenditure, Biden in August chose to use his executive authority – and the excuse of the COVID-19 “emergency” – to justify the appropriation.
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It was a stretch to make that case a year ago. It’s more of one now. Biden finally ended the national COVID-19 emergency in May. And life has returned to normal for most Americans.
That hasn’t kept Biden from sticking to his line that broad forgiveness is necessary for the well-being of millions of borrowers.
“I’m not going to back down on my efforts to help tens of millions of working- and middle-class families,” Biden said of his recent veto.
Not surprisingly, Republicans disagree with the president. But a few Democrats do, too.
Two Democrats crossed over to vote for ending the measure in the Republican-controlled House. A bigger blow to Biden were the two Democratic senators, Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Jon Tester of Montana, and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., who helped pass the legislation despite the Senate’s narrow Democratic majority.
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What’s so special about student loans?
Democrats love to frame student loan forgiveness as an act of mercy that Republicans are too cruel to support.
Besides the fact that Biden’s action flies in the face of the separation of powers, loan cancellation is fundamentally unfair. Millions of Americans who didn’t go to college or who have paid off their loans will be forced to carry the debt burden for those who made the choice to take on the debt.
Remember, these loans weren’t forced on the borrowers – they took them out knowing they would be expected to pay them back.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre unintentionally made the case for borrowers taking responsibility last month. While chiding Republicans for not passing a “clean” debt ceiling bill, she offered this comparison: “If you buy a car, you are expected to pay the monthly payment.”
She said the same about monthly mortgage payments.
“It’s that simple,” she said.
How are student loan payments any different? Student loan borrowers have already received special treatment since early 2020 with the ongoing repayment pause, sans interest (which alone will cost taxpayers more than $200 billion). That’s more than generous.
Biden is choosing to die on this hill because he believes it’s politically expedient for him to do so – the Constitution and fairness be damned.
Ingrid Jacques is a columnist at USA TODAY. Contact her at ijacques@usatoday.com or on Twitter: @Ingrid_Jacques
