AOC accused the Supreme Court of “corruption” in the possible end of the Student Loan cancellation program. Some think that might have gone too far.
AOC Is Not Happy
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., or AOC as she is known, vows to fight the outcome of the expected U.S. Supreme Court decision on the Biden administration’s plan to cancel up to $10,000 for students with public student loans.
The Education Department had approved over 16 million people for the loan-forgiveness program when it was paused due to a court challenge.
The high court could deliver its decision any day. Student loan payments were paused during the pandemic; however, they are slated to resume in October thanks to the debt ceiling deal reached between congressional Republicans and Joe Biden.
The president vetoed a Republican bill that would have canceled the program on Wednesday.
The plan would cancel $10,000 for individual borrowers making under $125,000 per year or $225,000 for married couples filing jointly. Those who received Pell Grants could get an additional $10,000 written off. An estimated 43 million could end up applying, and 20 million could see their entire debt eliminated.
Loan forgiveness only would apply to those with loans under the William D. Ford federal loan program.
A coalition of Republican-led Midwestern states brought one lawsuit, and two borrowers contended they would be harmed by the program. The Justices seemed skeptical during oral arguments in February.
The majority contended that the HEROES Act that the Biden administration used as legal justification for the program, SCOTUSBlog reported.
“In effect,” Thomas said, “this is a grant of $400 billion, and it runs headlong into” the Constitution’s requirement that only Congress can appropriate money.
AOC Vows to Take a Stand
In a line that some might consider over the political line, AOC accused the Supreme Court of “corruption” in its apparent drive to kill the program.
“We will not be deterred. We will not be stopped. And we will be resilient and endure in this fight,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “We are prepared in the event of any outcome in this ruling. We are here to fight, and we are here to make sure, and encourage, and have the president’s back, in making sure that this cancellation goes through for the millions of people in the United States whose livelihoods and futures hinge upon this decision.”
She vowed that she and her Left-of-center colleagues would not take a decision by the Supreme Court against the proposal “lying down.” Some Democrats have suggested that Biden could use the Higher Education Act to deliver relief for millions of borrowers because it does not rely on having a national emergency to implement.
The White House has not announced any strategic plans for what it would do should the court strike down the legislation.
Pelosi Expressed Skepticism of Constitutionality
Republicans are not the only ones who have expressed skepticism of the constitutionality of the president’s ability to forgive student debt without an act of Congress.
“People think that the President of the United States has the power for debt forgiveness. He does not. He can postpone. He can delay. But he does not have that power. That has to be an act of Congress,” Pelosi said. “The President can’t do it. So that’s not even a discussion. Not everybody realizes that. But the President can only postpone, delay, but not forgive,” she added.
She reversed herself last August.
The Supreme Court’s decision will set off shockwaves going into the 2024 campaign season and could become a campaign issue.
John Rossomando was a senior analyst for Defense Policy and served as Senior Analyst for Counterterrorism at The Investigative Project on Terrorism for eight years. His work has been featured in numerous publications such as The American Thinker, The National Interest, National Review Online, Daily Wire, Red Alert Politics, CNSNews.com, The Daily Caller, Human Events, Newsmax, The American Spectator, TownHall.com, and Crisis Magazine. He also served as senior managing editor of The Bulletin, a 100,000-circulation daily newspaper in Philadelphia, and received the Pennsylvania Associated Press Managing Editors first-place award for his reporting.
