Throughout the campaign, Joe Biden promised to stop the virus. He continued repeating what his advisors thought was a meaningful aphorism about averting another government shutdown. Now, over two years into his term as president, Biden is attempting to use the presidential authority he believes he has under the 2003 HEROES Act to suddenly erase up to $20,000 in Pell Grant student loan debt or $10,000 in other debts.
On March 13, 2020, under Section 501(b) of the Stafford Act, President Trump declared a national emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Biden’s use of this power runs counter to the legal justifications put forward earlier this year by his own administration in favor of the declaration. In May, the Biden administration filed an appeal with a federal district court in Louisiana challenging Trump’s Title 42 immigration rules. Biden’s team claimed that the border restriction should be eased since it was put in place to send migrants back to Mexico due to the public health emergency.
JACQUI TIME: "The Heroes Act hinges on student debt…being tied to the pandemic & that being a national emergency, but the administration argued in court that [it's] over…So, how is…COVID a national emergency when it comes to student debt?"
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) August 25, 2022
KJP: "It's a very good question" pic.twitter.com/JmwUD97jjc
When questioned about his assertion that he was using emergency powers to fulfill a campaign promise by canceling $20,000 in student debts, Biden stated that this was another falsehood. The answers to these inquiries would be of interest to all reporters and editors.
It appears that few journalists in the country are interested in this topic. One of them is Jacqui Heinrich, a White House journalist for Fox News, who questioned Karine Jean-Pierre, the press secretary, about the administration’s hypocrisy.
Jean-Pierre was at a loss for words, aside from the clear constitutional violations and abuse of a loophole by Biden.
“Some folks are going to have a little bit harder time with payments though the economy has been turned back on because of the work Biden has done.”
