Republican presidential hopefuls cheered Friday, as the Supreme Court overturned President Joe Biden’s plan to forgive a large swath of federal student loans, while Democratic politicians hammered the ruling.
The U.S. high court, which has a conservative majority, had been expected to return a decision that wasn’t favorable for the Democratic incumbent’s cancellation plan, which he announced last August ahead of November’s midterm elections.
Below are some of the initial reactions from some of the GOP politicians seeking their party’s presidential nomination for 2024.
- “A president cannot just wave his hand and eliminate loans for students he favors, while leaving out all those who worked hard to pay back their loans or made other career choices. The Supreme Court was right to throw out Joe Biden’s power grab.” — Nikki Haley, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and former South Carolina governor, in a tweet
- “Today’s Supreme Court ruling overturning President Biden’s illegal student loan scheme is a victory for common sense. You take out a loan, you pay it back. This decision frees taxpayers from shouldering debt they never signed up for.” — Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina in a tweet
- “Joe Biden’s massive trillion-dollar student loan bailout subsidizes the education of elites on the backs of hardworking Americans, and it was an egregious violation of the Constitution for him to attempt to do so unilaterally with the stroke of the executive pen. I am pleased that the Court struck down the Radical Left’s effort to use the money of taxpayers who played by the rules and repaid their debts in order to cancel the debt of bankers and lawyers in New York, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C. I am honored to have played a role in appointing three of the Justices that ensured today’s welcomed decision, and as President I will continue to appoint judges who will strictly apply the law and enforce our Constitution’s separation of powers.” — Former Vice President Mike Pence in a statement
- “We have a bad habit in this country of paying people to do the exact opposite of what we would want them to do. … Now effectively paying people more not to repay their student-loan debts than to actually reward the people who did. That’s not America. America is a country where you achieve and get ahead based on your own hard work and commitment and dedication. We’re not going to pay you to do the other thing. That’s the country I’m going to create and help lead as your next president, and I think the Supreme Court is making my job, all of our jobs, frankly, a heck of a lot easier. And I’m glad for the decision.” — Vivek Ramaswamy, entrepreneur and author, in a video
Related: Here are the Republicans running for president in 2024
Meanwhile, Biden and other Democratic politicians criticized the Supreme Court’s ruling, and some of those reactions are given below.
The president is also slated to deliver a speech on the issue at 3:30 p.m. Eastern Friday, similar to how he made remarks Thursday after the court’s decision to strike down affirmative action in college admissions.
- “I believe that the Court’s decision to strike down our student debt relief plan is wrong. But I will stop at nothing to find other ways to deliver relief to hard-working middle-class families. My Administration will continue to work to bring the promise of higher education to every American. And later today, I will provide more detail on all that my Administration has done to help students and the next steps my Administration will take.” — President Joe Biden in a statement
- “The same Supreme Court that overturned Roe now refuses to follow the plain language of the law on student loan cancellation. This fight is not over. The President has more tools to cancel student debt — and he must use them.” — Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts in a tweet
- “They overturned Roe v. Wade. They ended Affirmative Action. Now they’ve rejected Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan. Today’s SCOTUS works to proactively diminish the rights and opportunities of the people of the United States. … As President, I will expand the Court if necessary. Nothing in the Constitution says it’s limited to 9 justices. We must also introduce ethics rules for SCOTUS justices, and consider term limits. Our current SCOTUS has gone rogue in service to their corporatist sponsors.” — Democratic presidential hopeful Marianne Williamson in posts on Twitter
- “This disappointing and cruel ruling shows the callousness of the MAGA Republican-controlled Supreme Court. The hypocrisy is clear: as justices accept lavish, six-figure gifts, they don’t dare to help Americans saddled with student loan debt, instead siding with the powerful, big-monied interests. The fight will not end here. The Biden administration has remaining legal routes to provide broad-based student debt cancellation. With the pause on student loan payments set to expire in weeks, I call upon the administration to do everything in its power to deliver for millions of working- and middle-class Americans struggling with student loan debt.” — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer in a statement
To be sure, some members of Biden’s own party haven’t been fans of his controversial cancellation plan, with Democrats in competitive U.S. Senate races last November criticizing it. In addition, a Republican bill that aimed to overturn the plan passed the Democratic-controlled Senate on June 1 thanks to votes from three members of that chamber’s Democratic caucus.
U.S. stocks
SPX,
DJIA,
were trading higher Friday, helped by an encouraging reading on inflation that was fueling hopes the Federal Reserve might be able to back off on raising interest rates.
Ahead of Friday’s court decision, Pangaea Policy founder Terry Haines said in a note that a ruling against Biden’s plan would be “very likely markets positive” because of its possible disinflationary impact. Haines pointed to how some economists have said Biden’s plan look poised to fuel inflation.
Now read: Advocates push Biden to use other tools to cancel student debt
And see: The Supreme Court just blocked student-loan cancellation. Here’s what happens next for your loans.
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