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.
Nicole Goodkind, politics reporter for Newsweek, discusses the controversial claissified memo in light of the FBI director publicly announcing "grave concerns" with inaccuracies. We also dig into new updates in the Russia investigation.
Facebook and Microsoft release earnings. The Dow wraps its best month since March 2016. Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) announced Wednesday he will not seek reelection. Bitcoin could face its worst monthly decline in January. Entrepreneur and original "Shark" Kevin Harrington shares his outlook for cryptocurrency, and how he thinks it could transform retail.
The director of the CDC resigned Wednesday after reports saying she purchased shares in a tobacco company. Spotify is testing a new app in Australia that sounds a lot like Pandora.
To accelerate efforts to increase gender equality in 2018, some of the world's top female leaders met at the New York Stock Exchange for the first-ever Women in Corporate Leadership Initiative. Marlene Schiappa, France's Secretary of State for Gender Equality, breaks down how the group is pushing for equality in the year ahead.
Congresswoman Debbie Dingell represents Michigan's twelfth district. She invited Cindy Garcia as her guest to President Trump's first State of the Union. Due to the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, Garcia's husband Jorge was deported to Mexico after living in America for 30 years.
Cheddar's special post State of the Union show is a wrap-up of President Trump's big night: what were the highlights, what was the reaction, and most importantly, what's next for the GOP?
Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) announced Wednesday he will not seek reelection. The decision comes one day after President Trump's first State of the Union. Republican political strategist Rick Wilson explains what this means for the Republican party, and shares his top moments from the SOTU.
Stormy Daniels stopped by "Jimmy Kimmel Live" after President Donald Trump's first State of the Union address. Spotify is testing a new app in Australia that's similar to Pandora. The Young Turks CEO Cenk Uygur joins Cheddar to discuss his network's new partnership with Dan Rather. Plus, we talk to stars from "Total Divas" about the reality show's milestone 100th episode.
Jon Greenberg, staff writer at Politifact, fact-checks President Trump's first State of the Union Address, digging into some of his boldest policy claims.
In a surprise announcement on his Twitter account, Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) said he will not seek re-election after his term ends this year. Cenk Uygur, Founder of The Young Turks, weighs in on the breaking news.
