In a recent ruling, the Supreme Court has rejected President Joe Biden’s student debt cancellation program. The decision, which was delivered with a 6-3 majority, cited a quote from former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) in the majority opinion penned by Chief Justice John Roberts.
The program, aimed at forgiving up to $10,000 in federal student loans for borrowers with incomes below a certain threshold, was deemed unconstitutional. The ruling stated that the COVID-era HEROES Act did not grant President Biden the authority to act unilaterally on the issue.
HAHAHAHAHA Justice Roberts cited Nancy Pelosi in the majority opinion when she said Biden doesn't have the power to cancel student debt. pic.twitter.com/mhhyniRPpa
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) June 30, 2023
Roberts wrote, “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.”
The Chief Justice further bolstered his point by quoting Pelosi, who had previously stated in July 2021, “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.”
Despite her initial reservations, Pelosi appeared to support the plan in August 2022, praising Biden’s efforts in a tweet. However, she has not yet commented on the Court’s decision to strike down the program entirely.
