Why student loan forgiveness remains a key issue for the Biden campaign even after Supreme Court loss
CNN
When Americans head to the polls in November, President Joe Biden will have had a direct effect on the household finances of about 4 million of them: He canceled their student loan debt.
When Americans head to the polls in November, President Joe Biden will have had a direct effect on the household finances of about 4 million of them: He canceled their student loan debt. More student debt has been forgiven under Biden than any previous administration – but after his signature debt relief program hit a major legal roadblock last year, his historic efforts may fall short of some voters’ expectations. Sixteen million people received an email from the administration in 2022 notifying them that they qualified for student loan forgiveness under Biden’s new program, which was later struck down by the Supreme Court. No student loan debt was ever canceled under that program. “We know people are scrambling right now because they made certain financial decisions, because they were expecting debt relief. It’s not like they just read it in a newspaper or heard it from a friend – they got an email,” said Braxton Brewington, press secretary for the Debt Collective, a group advocating for the cancellation of student loan debt. Still, the Biden campaign sees student debt forgiveness as a winning issue. “My MAGA Republican friends in the Congress, elected officials and special interests stepped in and sued us and the Supreme Court blocked it. But that didn’t stop me,” Biden said during a stop in California in February.
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