Key Democrats unhappy with Biden's reluctance to cancel $50,000 in student debt
President Joe Biden's rejection of calls to eliminate up to $50,000 of student loan debt has prompted sharp responses from his allies on Capitol Hill, with leading liberals vowing to push ahead with the plan and the top Senate Democrat calling for them to "keep fighting."
Posted — UpdatedIn a joint statement on Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren said, "Cancelling $50,000 in federal student loan debt will help close the racial wealth gap, benefit the 40% of borrowers who do not have a college degree, and help stimulate the economy. It's time to act. We will keep fighting."
The comments are a rebuke to Biden and a way to put pressure on the administration after the President made clear during Tuesday night's CNN town hall that he disagrees with other members of his party who want to cancel $50,000 of student debt per borrower.
"I will not make that happen," Biden said after a member of the audience said his proposal to cancel $10,000 per borrower doesn't go far enough.
The dispute among Democrats highlights an early intra-party rift opening under the new administration over a liberal policy proposal.
Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York openly criticized the President on Wednesday over his comments.
"1. Who cares what school someone went to? Entire generations of working class kids were encouraged to go into more debt under the guise of elitism. This is wrong," she said on Twitter, adding, "2. Nowhere does it say we must trade-off early childhood education for student loan forgiveness. We can have both."
This story is breaking and will be updated.
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