Biden latest student loan move a Hail Mary lobbed at young voters

President Joe Biden announced another slate of student loan debt forgiveness on Wednesday in his latest bid to reverse his economic polling heading into an election.

Biden’s economic stewardship has been underwater for the bulk of his time in the White House, and a recent poll from NBC News showed just 38% of voters approving of his handling of the economy, the lowest marks of his term.

BIDEN EXTENDS $9 BILLION MORE OF STUDENT DEBT RELIEF TO 125,000 BORROWERS

Meanwhile, Biden has lost his edge over former President Donald Trump, the likely Republican nominee for president in 2024, among a critical component of his winning 2020 coalition: voters under 45 years old.

A poll published Wednesday from PBS NewsHour, NPR, and Marist showed Trump now leading Biden 50%-47% among the group. For comparison, Biden carried voters under 45 by 17 points in the 2020 general election. Biden still leads Trump 49%-47% overall.

Faiz Shakir, a Democratic strategist and campaign manager for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), attributed young voters souring on Biden to the economy, his failure to wipe $10,000 in student loan debt for all borrowers, and a worsening housing market for both renters and buyers.

“That’s scary and concerning,” Shakir stated. “If you’re Joe Biden, if you’re any Democrat running for office, you’ve got to pull in a healthy amount of people who are young. And if you’re not, that should be of concern to you.”

The Supreme Court struck down Biden’s first attempt at unilateral debt cancellation earlier this year, but the president had already wiped clean debt for millions of first responders, teachers, and people with disabilities.

Furthermore, the Biden administration has continued its efforts to restructure income-based repayment plans and Public Service Loan Forgiveness programs to extend loan relief, including Wednesday’s cancellation of roughly $9 billion for 125,000 borrowers.

Speaking at the White House Wednesday afternoon, Biden suggested that this new action is part of his campaign promise to amend the education system.

“When I ran for president, I vowed to fix our broken student loan program because while a college degree is still the ticket to a better life, that ticket has become excessively expensive,” he said. “Americans who are saddled with unsustainable debt in exchange for college degree has become norm. Since then, my administration has taken significant action to provide student debt relief to as many borrowers as possible, as quickly as possible. That starts with making sure the existing system works in the way it was supposed to work for student borrowers.”

Biden also shot back at critics of his student loan plan, many of them Republicans, for backing pandemic-era loan forgiveness for businesses while opposing relief for student loan borrowers.

“They had no problem with the Paycheck Protection Program. Remember that the PPP program during the last several years, which was designed to help business owners who lost money, which is legitimate because of the pandemic — members of Congress got over hundreds of thousands of dollars in order because their businesses lost money. There wasn’t a word,” he continued. “The hypocrisy of this I find stunning. I supported that program, and I support the student debt program. My administration will continue to use every tool at our disposal to help ease the burden of student debt.”

The White House has spent months contrasting Biden’s economic platform with the proposals and actions on display from congressional Republicans, especially ahead of a likely fraught House speaker election and a looming government shutdown in November.

“Republicans in Congress have tried every which way to block these efforts and keep their own constituents under the burden of student loan debt,” a White House official said in a statement Wednesday morning. “President Biden will show that his Administration will not be deterred in delivering for the American people and giving hardworking families breathing room.”

Republicans, however, continue to criticize Biden’s attempts to extend billions in loan relief to the public.

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“Joe Biden’s student loan bailout for the wealthy was already struck down by the Supreme Court,” Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said in a statement on Wednesday. “Now, he is trying to save face by cancelling debt for a few while families struggle to afford Bidenomics. Biden’s desperate vote grabs won’t cover for sky-high inflation and failed economic policies.”

You can watch Biden’s remarks in full below.