Progressives Mount Pressure on Joe Biden to Cancel Student Debt

Progressives Mount Pressure on Joe Biden to Cancel Student Debt

Progressive lawmakers have kept up pressure on President Joe Biden to cancel student loan debt after he said he was not prepared to write off as much as $50,000 per student at a CNN town hall last week.In a series of social media posts and media spots, members of The Squad group of progressive lawmakers said Biden "must cancel student debt" as they sought to deflect arguments that the policy would largely benefit privileged Americans.They also said the move would help tackle the "racial wealth gap" and provide much-needed assistance amid the pandemic to those who took out student loans but failed to get degrees.Speaking to MSNBC on Sunday night, Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) argued that Biden "absolutely" had the authority to cancel student debt by way of an executive order, and claimed low-income households would benefit.President Joe Biden delivers remarks at a virtual event hosted by the Munich Security Conference in the East Room of the White House on February 19, 2021 in Washington, DC.

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"President Biden must cancel student debt by executive action," she added. "$50,000 will go a long way in a just recovery from this pandemic."Writing a letter to The Washington Post on Thursday, rebuking