Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez late Wednesday called on President Joe Biden to use his executive authority to immediately cancel student loan payments after the president signed an order extending an existing pause through at least the end of September.
“OK now let’s cancel them,” the New York Democrat tweeted in response to Biden’s order, which directs the Education Department to freeze “federal student loan payments and collections and keep the interest rate at 0%.”
“Too many Americans are struggling to pay for basic necessities and to provide for their families,” the White House said in a statement. “They should not be forced to choose between paying their student loans and putting food on the table.”
While the extension of the payment freeze was a welcome day-one action by Biden, progressives have long argued that the president has the legal authority — and a moral obligation — to unilaterally cancel the student loan debt that is saddling tens of millions of Americans.
Biden can cancel all $1.7 trillion of student debt by executive order.
— The Debt Collective (@StrikeDebt) January 20, 2021
But last month, as Common Dreams reported, Biden claimed it is “questionable” whether the president can legally cancel student loan debt via executive order and said he is “unlikely to do that.” Instead of taking executive action, Biden has proposed canceling $10,000 in federal student debt per borrower through legislation.
Alexis Goldstein, a senior policy analyst with Americans for Financial Reform, said at the time that “it simply isn’t correct to say the legal authority to cancel student debt via executive action is ‘questionable.'”
“The authority is clear, documented, and even the Trump administration used executive authority to cancel student loan interest payments, twice,” Goldstein noted.
Just ahead of Biden’s inauguration Wednesday, The Debt Collective union launched the Biden Jubilee 100, an initiative that consists of “100 student debt strikers refusing to pay back their student loans until President Biden cancels all student debt — which he has the power to do immediately!”
“Our communities are struggling in the midst of the Covid pandemic,” reads the The Debt Collective’s website. “Millions of us are facing eviction and food insecurity, while suffering from exploding medical costs, rising tuition, unpayable bills, and the perpetual fear of illness. Joe Biden and his administration need to act immediately… And we’re going to make him do it.”
Help us Prepare for Trump’s Day One
Trump is busy getting ready for Day One of his presidency – but so is Truthout.
Trump has made it no secret that he is planning a demolition-style attack on both specific communities and democracy as a whole, beginning on his first day in office. With over 25 executive orders and directives queued up for January 20, he’s promised to “launch the largest deportation program in American history,” roll back anti-discrimination protections for transgender students, and implement a “drill, drill, drill” approach to ramp up oil and gas extraction.
Organizations like Truthout are also being threatened by legislation like HR 9495, the “nonprofit killer bill” that would allow the Treasury Secretary to declare any nonprofit a “terrorist-supporting organization” and strip its tax-exempt status without due process. Progressive media like Truthout that has courageously focused on reporting on Israel’s genocide in Gaza are in the bill’s crosshairs.
As journalists, we have a responsibility to look at hard realities and communicate them to you. We hope that you, like us, can use this information to prepare for what’s to come.
And if you feel uncertain about what to do in the face of a second Trump administration, we invite you to be an indispensable part of Truthout’s preparations.
In addition to covering the widespread onslaught of draconian policy, we’re shoring up our resources for what might come next for progressive media: bad-faith lawsuits from far-right ghouls, legislation that seeks to strip us of our ability to receive tax-deductible donations, and further throttling of our reach on social media platforms owned by Trump’s sycophants.
We’re preparing right now for Trump’s Day One: building a brave coalition of movement media; reaching out to the activists, academics, and thinkers we trust to shine a light on the inner workings of authoritarianism; and planning to use journalism as a tool to equip movements to protect the people, lands, and principles most vulnerable to Trump’s destruction.
We urgently need your help to prepare. As you know, our December fundraiser is our most important of the year and will determine the scale of work we’ll be able to do in 2025. We’ve set two goals: to raise $120,000 in one-time donations and to add 1383 new monthly donors by midnight on December 31.
Today, we’re asking all of our readers to start a monthly donation or make a one-time donation – as a commitment to stand with us on day one of Trump’s presidency, and every day after that, as we produce journalism that combats authoritarianism, censorship, injustice, and misinformation. You’re an essential part of our future – please join the movement by making a tax-deductible donation today.
If you have the means to make a substantial gift, please dig deep during this critical time!
With gratitude and resolve,
Maya, Negin, Saima, and Ziggy