Biden loses again on student loans. His pardon plan is illegal

It seems utterly undemocratic to me that a president could casually ignore the highest court in the land — and it’s part of a broader trend of executive overreach throughout Joe Biden’s presidency .

President Joe Biden loves to repeat that he is the only one who can save us from Donald Trump, the destroyer of democracy.

Well, let’s take a look at what Biden recently bragged about on social media: “The Supreme Court tried to stop me from relieving student debt. But they didn’t stop me. I’ve relieved student debt for over 5 million Americans. I’m going to keep going.”

It seems quite strange that a president would casually ignore the highest court in the land. undemocratic to me – and it fits a broader trend of executive overreach throughout Biden’s presidency.

Today, two new federal judges dealt a major blow to Biden’s continued efforts to wipe out huge amounts of student loans. More on that in a moment.

Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Biden’s sweeping attempt to unilaterally cancel billions in student debt, ruling it unconstitutional. Rather than considering the seriousness of this rebuke, Biden immediately decided to do the same thing, albeit in a slightly different way.

Imagine the outrage if Trump tried to do something similar.

Even Obama-appointed judges tell Biden he’s crossing the line

On the same day that the Supreme Court ruled against Biden’s first loan forgiveness plan, the White House spoke out.

“No president has fought harder for student debt relief than President Biden, and he’s not done yet,” the statement said. “President Biden and Vice President (Kamala) Harris will not let Republican elected officials succeed in denying hardworking Americans the help they need.”

Biden wasn’t kidding when he said he didn’t do what he wanted. Since that decision, he has implemented several new loan forgiveness programs that abuse his executive power just as much as before, if not worse.

It’s not my debt: I just paid my taxes. Biden’s complacency on student loans will end up costing us even more.

While Biden and his administration have described efforts to have his student loan forgiveness as a conspiracy by “Republicans” and a conservative Supreme Court, he will have a harder time explaining these latest decisions.

Last Monday, two federal judges in Kansas and Missouri blocked the Biden administration from granting further debt forgiveness under the president’s sweeping “SAVE” income-based repayment plan, which drastically or completely reduces payments monthly and allows for much faster loan cancellation.

Estimates have put the cost of the new plan at $475 billion over 10 years — more than Biden’s original plan that was canceled.

These judges are not Trump judges. U.S. District Judge Daniel Crabtree and U.S. District Judge John Ross were both appointed by former President Barack Obama, during Biden’s tenure as vice president.

Crabtree said the Higher Education Act of 1965 does not allow for this type of “unprecedented and dramatic expansion” of income-driven repayment plans.

Similarly, Ross found that Biden’s Department of Education “exceeded its authority by enacting a loan forgiveness provision under the SAVE program.”

Such large spending needs to go through Congress — a lesson Biden can’t seem to learn, even though he has spent most of his career in the legislative branch.

As White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said last week, “today’s decisions will not prevent our administration from using all the tools at its disposal to provide students and borrowers the relief they need. »

It’s not just illegal. Biden’s actions are bankrupting us.

Biden’s massive spending plan to buy votes is not only illegal. It also fundamentally harms our bottom line as a country.

This “forgiven” debt does not simply disappear, but is borne by each taxpayer.

The latest benchmark report from the Congressional Budget Office shows that “spending this year will be the largest on record outside of a crisis – far exceeding pre-pandemic levels,” according to an analysis by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out why.

Biden spends a lot: Good job, Biden! Social Security is bankrupt and debt payments are breaking the bank

Interest payments on our rapidly rising national debt – and higher interest rates due to inflation – account for about half of the increase in spending.

The CBO also projects that the deficit will reach $1.9 trillion this fiscal year and the national debt will exceed $50 trillion in a decade, if taxes and spending remain unchanged.

These numbers are alarming and demand drastic measures. However, what we are seeing from Biden is quite the opposite.

It’s no wonder that more key voters in swing states (the so-called policymakers) say they trust Trump to handle threats to our democracy than Biden.

Ingrid Jacques is a columnist for USA TODAY. Contact her at [email protected] or on X, formerly Twitter: @Ingrid_Jacques.