Protesters in favor of student loan relief gathered outside the Supreme Court on Tuesday morning, demanding that the top jurists side with President Biden as they hear two cases challenging his signature student loan debt relief policy.
Biden’s relief program looks to cancel $10,000 of student debt for low- to middle-income borrowers and $20,000 for Pell Grant recipients, but the legal challenges have put the program on hold while the Supreme Court hears the arguments for the cases that jeopardize it.
Activists who showed up ahead of oral arguments told Cheddar that Americans should not have to be burdened with so much student debt.
"I went to college as a first generation college student. My FAFSA said we had zero expected family contribution," said Kristin McGuire, executive director of the advocacy group Young Invincibles. "I borrowed $20,000 to finance my college education, and I currently owe over $55,000."
“We're almost 20 years later, and my debt has doubled. And Americans should not have to go through that,” McGuire continued.
Democratic Rep. Ayanna Pressley (Mass. District 7) also made an appearance outside the Supreme Court.
"The people demand and deserve student debt cancellation," Pressley told the crowd. "Student debt cancellation will change and save lives."
Pressley said that Republican officials are “disconnected from the hardship of everyday folks who are burdened by this debt” and “chose obstruction.”
But, Republicans have called Biden’s plan fiscally irresponsible.
“Our nation is facing a staggering $31 trillion worth of debt and we have closed in on the debt ceiling, yet the Biden administration is still attempting to cancel millions of dollars in student loans,” Senator Rick Scott of Florida has said. “The reality is, a blanket forgiveness of student loans only benefits a small percentage of the population at the expense of millions of other hard working Americans."
The Court’s decisions won’t be released until the early summer, but 26 million people have already applied for the program, with 16 million having already been approved.
The recent crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border isn't that different from the injustices committed against the transgender community, says actress and transgender rights activist Angelica Ross. "We, as a country and as a global society, have lost touch with our humanity," she tells Cheddar.
Mike Corbat, head of the fourth biggest bank in the U.S. with $1.84 trillion in assets, said that, while many of the current trade agreements in place need to be updated to reflect the modern economy, it's 'unfortunate' that progress from other policies, like tax reform, could be hampered by the threat of trade wars.
Employees of big tech companies hold their leaders to a high moral standard and force them to speak out, says Dana Wollman, executive editor at Endgadget. Microsoft staff recently protested against letting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which has been criticized for its treatment of migrant children at the border, use the company's Azure cloud technology.
The president said he will sign an executive order as soon as Wednesday to prohibit officials from separating children and parents at the southern border, after days of standing by the zero tolerance policy. His changed stance may stem from national backlash in the political and private sectors, says Jack Crowe, news writer at the National Review.
President Trump on Tuesday again deflected blame for tearing apart families at the U.S. border and suggested deporting entire family units, and Republicans scrambled to come up with a legislative fix for the crisis.
The former president of Mexico, a long-time advocate of legalizing cannabis globally, joined the board of the cannabis culture company. Adam Levine, CEO of High Times, said his addition will lend support to its efforts.
Markets opened sharply lower on Tuesday after President Trump directed his administration to identify an additional $200 billion worth of Chinese goods that could be hit with taxes, upping the ante in the potential U.S.-China trade war. Trump's announcement comes in response to China's threats to retaliate against an original round of tariffs, targeting $50 billion worth of U.S. imports.
Suraj Patel, a former Obama campaign staffer, is trying to boost voter turnout in New York's 12th District by collaborating with coffee carts, taking workout classes with voters, and engaging with people on the streets. He's running to unseat 25-year incumbent Rep. Carolyn Maloney in the Democratic primary next week.
The president on Monday said the U.S. "will not be a migrant camp," responding to concern over families being separated at the southern border. Trump also blamed the situation on the Democrats because he realizes that the emotional images of children at processing centers are "unspinably bad right now," says Republican strategist Rick Wilson.
Google is investing $550 million in Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com. Now, JD.com products will be featured on Google's shopping service. JD.com is China's second largest e-commerce company, just behind Alibaba.
Audi CEO Rupert Stadler was arrested on Monday in Germany. Authorities detained him for fear that he would interfere with the ongoing investigation into Volkswagen over its emissions testing scandal. Volkswagen is the parent company of Audi.
Pressure is mounting on President Trump to end the zero-tolerance immigration policy that's separating children and parents at the border. Mike Allen, executive editor at Axios, weighs in on the controversy.
