A Capitol Hill communications director touted his forgiven student loans in a social media post that quickly has caught the attention of critics of President Biden’s forgiveness plan.
“Just got a call to let me know my student debt has been canceled. This is why elections matter. Thanks @JoeBiden,” Ben Kamens, communications director for Rep. Marcy Kaptur, Ohio Democrat, said in a post on X.
The post on also included a picture of the letter from the loan servicer Nelnet, telling him, “Congratulations! The Biden-Harris administration has forgiven your federal student loan(s) listed below with Nelnet in full.”
The letter reveals that the two loans were taken out in 2010, and the original balances were $2,750 and $5,500. Mr. Kamen also neglected to cut out his Pennsylvania address that is on full display on the letter.
A few hours later he replied to his own post, linking to information on the Biden administration’s Saving on a Valuable Education plan, the income-driven repayment plan the administration has been pushing.
The post went viral, with people bashing Mr. Kamens for praising a plan that, critics say, causes taxpayers to pay back the loans instead of the borrowers who actually received an education.
“What a tool! Does this deadbeat know the loan he signed for was paid by truck drivers, carpenters, plumbers, mechanics & chumps like me who worked 40 hrs a week to pay for my college?” former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a Republican, wrote in an X post. “He thanks Biden but Joe didn’t use HIS money-he used $ of working ppl.”
Former GOP Virginia Rep. Scott Taylor echoed those sentiments.
“Your tax $ were already paying this DC Staffer’s student loans off for him while he works on Capitol Hill. Now, you paid them off completely, whether he works or not. And, he may just start taking more classes, which you will then pay for as well. This is why elections matter,” he said.
Libs of TikTok founder Chaya Raichik suggested the post was an inside job in her X post: “Biden is buying votes again,” she said.
In the comments, an X user asked him how he is “so broke” that he couldn’t pay it off.
“My job was paying it down for me ahead of schedule, but I’m happy to let the government cancel it instead of paying it off $400 a month and letting interest accrue,” he replied.
Patrick Webb, a writer at Leading Report, said the loan forgiveness “is so unfair to those who either paid off their loans or never took out government-subsidized loans in the first place.”
Mr. Kamens has not publicly acknowledged the responses he has received to his post, but has since made his account private. The Washington Times has reached out to him for comment.
This post and its responses highlight the strong divide on the student loan issue.
Student loan forgiveness has been one of the main talking points of Mr. Biden’s presidency since before he was elected. Last month, the administration canceled student debt for 160,000 more people, bringing the total amount assisted to 4.75 million Americans.
In June 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Mr. Biden’s program that was set to erase roughly $430 billion in student loan debt. Since then, the president has been implementing smaller, more targeted debt relief programs and introducing new payment plans.
“From day one of my administration, I promised to fight to ensure higher education is a ticket to the middle class, not a barrier to opportunity. I will never stop working to cancel student debt — no matter how many times Republican elected officials try to stop us,” Mr. Biden said in a statement announcing the forgiveness in late May.
Those who side with Mr. Biden and Democrats on student loan forgiveness argue that it is no different than the government forgiving Paycheck Protection Program loans, which were given out as help to small businesses during the pandemic.
Notable Republican lawmakers like Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, of Georgia, Matt Gaetz of Florida and Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma are just some of those who have had their PPP loans forgiven, according to the White House.
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.
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