On Friday (June 30), Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) lauded the Supreme Court’s decision to reject President Joe Biden’s student debt relief plan, which he played a role in shaping with his conservative values.
McConnell shared his views that this was a significant triumph.
In a statement about the ruling, McConnell noted that “The American people know that the Biden Administration’s student loan socialism plan would be a raw deal for hardworking taxpayers,” adding that by rejecting the Biden administration’s “position in Biden v. Nebraska, [taxpayers] can know that it’s illegal.
During the end of President Barack Obama’s second term in office, McConnell deliberately left the seat of the late Justice Antonin Scalia vacant for a year. This move allowed former President Donald Trump to appoint Gorsuch to the bench in 2017, effectively shaping today’s court.
Before the 2020 election, while Donald Trump was still in office, McConnell also expedited the Senate confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett as a replacement for the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court.
Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) labeled The court’s decision as “disappointing and cruel.”
Schumer suggested that the “hypocrisy [on the Supreme Court bench] is clear,” noting that Justices accepting “lavish, six-figure gifts,” wouldn’t “dare to help Americans saddled with student loan debt,” and would rather side “with the powerful, big-monied interests.”
Schumer added that he would call on the Biden administration “to do everything in its power” to help millions of Americans “struggling with student loan debt.”
Also on Friday, following the ruling, Biden announced that he would be introducing new policies to help student loan borrowers.
