White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Friday that President Biden plans to do more to ease the burden of student debt after the current moratorium for borrowers ends in late August.
Ms. Psaki said Mr. Biden is open to canceling some level of student debt through executive action.
“Yes, still on the table, still on the table,” she said on the Pod Save America podcast.
The pause on student debt repayment was set to expire in May before Mr. Biden extended the moratorium through Aug. 31.
“So between now and Aug. 31 it is either going to be extended or we are going to make a decision … about canceling student debt,” Ms. Psaki said.
That could be music to the ears of liberal activists who have been clamoring for more action from Mr. Biden before November’s midterm elections and pressuring him to wipe away some, if not all, student debt.
Mr. Biden’s approval rating among younger voters has been slipping.
Ms. Psaki said Mr. Biden’s preference is for Congress to pass a bill because it is more permanent than an executive action.
“We know as we have been talking about costs are too high and certainly not having to pay back student loans — nobody has had to pay back a dollar, a cent, anything in student loans since Joe Biden has been president — and if that can help people ease the burden of costs in other parts of their lives that is an important thing to consider,” she said.
Mr. Biden, in the 2020 presidential race, distanced himself from several of his rivals by refusing to commit to eliminating all student debt. Instead, he said he favored wiping away $10,000 in debt for most borrowers, and said his preference would be for Congress to make the move.
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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