By Steve Holland and Jeff Mason
WASHINGTON President Joe Biden plans to announce new actions on Friday to protect student loan borrowers following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that blocked his plan to cancel $430 billion in student loan debt, a White House source said.
"While we strongly disagree with the court, we prepared for this scenario," the source said, noting that Biden would have more to say on the subject later on Friday.
"The president will make clear he’s not done fighting yet, and will announce new actions to protect student loan borrowers," said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
In a 6-3 decision on Friday, the Supreme Court blocked Biden's plan to cancel $430 billion in student loan debt. The ruling, which was welcomed by Republicans, is a blow to the Democratic president. It robs him, at least for now, of the opportunity to make good on a promise he made to his supporters and dismantling a plank of his policy agenda.
Progressive voters, who are part of the coalition that helped elect Biden in 2020, long have put pressure on the White House to address student loan debt; the court's decision intensified calls for further action.
"The President has more tools to cancel student debt -- and he must use them," Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren, a leading progressive voice, said on Twitter.
"More than 40 million hard working Americans are waiting for the help that President Biden promised them, and they expect this administration to throw everything they've got into the fight until they make good on this commitment," she said.
The White House source said it would be putting blame on Republicans for stymieing Biden's efforts.
"We’ll also be making it crystal clear to borrowers and their families that Republicans are responsible for denying them the relief that President Biden has been fighting to get to them," the source said.
Republicans argued that Biden's initial student loan relief plan was unconstitutional and unfair.
“Biden's student loan bailout unfairly punished Americans who already paid off their loans, saved for college, or made a different career choice," Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said in a statement. "Americans saw right through this desperate vote grab, and we are thankful that the Supreme Court did as well."
(Reporting by Steve Holland and Jeff Mason; additional reporting by Rami Ayyub; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
