US president Joe Biden bristled Friday when a Fox News reporter asked why he gave millions “false hope” that their student loan debts would be forgiven. The Supreme Court had just ruled against Biden’s plan to relieve the payback burden, saying he didn’t have the power to do so. (Watch the video below.)
“Mr. President, why did you give millions of borrowers false hope? You’ve doubted your own authority here in the past,” reporter Jacqui Heinrich said as Biden wrapped up a press conference.
The president glared at Heinrich. “I didn’t give any false hope,” he said, emphasising the last few words. “The question was whether or not I would do even more than was requested. What I did I thought was appropriate and was able to be done and would get done. I didn’t give borrowers false hope. But the Republicans snatched away the hope that they were given. And it’s real. Real hope.”
The conservative-majority court decided 6-3 that the president lacked the authority to eliminate such debt on his own, scuttling Biden’s initiative to cancel up to $20,000 (£15,780) in payback obligations for more than 40 million loan holders.
Biden told the White House press corps that he would now try to secure debt relief through the Higher Education Act.
“I’m never going to stop fighting for you,” the president pledged to borrowers. “We’ll use every tool at our disposal to get you the student debt relief you need and reach your dreams. It’s good for the economy. It’s good for the country. It’s going to be good for you.”