Democrats Pressure Biden to Cancel Student Loans After Supreme Court Ruling

Several Democratic members of Congress have called on President Joe Biden to take further action on student loan debt following the Supreme Court decision on Friday, which struck down the president's loan forgiveness plan.

"This disappointing and cruel student debt ruling shows the callousness of the MAGA Republican-controlled Supreme Court," Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Twitter. "The fight will not end here. The Biden administration has remaining legal routes to provide broad-based student debt cancellation."

The remarks by Schumer come shortly after the Supreme Court ruled against Biden and sided with Republican-led states that disagreed with the president's student debt forgiveness plan. Biden previously announced his plan to cancel up to $25,000 worth of debt for Pell Grant recipients and up to $10,000 for borrowers with an income lower than $125,000.

According to the Biden administration, the plan would have benefited up to 43 million Americans who had college debt. At least 20 million borrowers would have had their debt fully relieved under Biden's plan.

The decision leads many to wonder exactly why the Supreme Court would vote this way.

"The Secretary asserts that the HEROES Act grants him the authority to cancel $430 billion of student loan principal. It does not. We hold today that the Act allows the Secretary to 'waive or modify' existing statutory or regulatory provisions applicable to financial assistance programs under the Education Act, not to rewrite that statute from the ground up," Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the majority opinion, alluding to Department of Education Secretary Miguel Cardona.

In a statement, a White House source told Newsweek, "While we strongly disagree with the court, we prepared for this scenario. The President will have more to say today. The President will make clear he's not done fighting yet, and will announce next steps to protect student loan borrowers."

In addition to Schumer, a number of other Democrats have also called on Biden to take further action following the Supreme Court's decision.

"I am calling on President Biden and Secretary Cardona to use other tools available to them to swiftly cancel student debt. The people demand and deserve this long overdue economic relief and a promise is a promise. The Biden administration should act immediately. I won't let up," Massachusetts Democratic Representative Ayanna Pressley said in a statement.

Missouri Democratic Representative Cori Bush said, "@POTUS we need you to act again to correct this harm. Our communities were promised student debt relief and we must use every tool at our disposal to deliver."

Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren also called on Biden to act and said, "This fight is not over. The President has more tools to cancel student debt—and he must use them."

Alabama Democratic Representative Terri Sewell called on her colleagues "to take action to combat the student debt crisis and make higher education more affordable for our students."

Newsweek reached out to the White House via email for comment.