- Sen. Bernie Sanders released a lengthy statement condemning the Supreme Court's ruling on student debt.
- He said the decision striking down Biden's relief plan showed the court protects "big money interests."
Sen. Bernie Sanders called out the Supreme Court on Friday, saying overturning student loan forgiveness is a "devastating blow" to millions of borrowers.
"Today, the Supreme Court has made it clear that they will continue doing everything possible to protect the big money interests against the needs of struggling working families," Sanders said in a lengthy and scathing statement.
"This right wing ideology is consistent with their recent decisions: denying women the right to control their own bodies, ending affirmative action, attacking LGBT rights and limiting the government's ability to address climate change," he went on.
Sanders also called on President Joe Biden and his administration to "implement a Plan B immediately to cancel student debt for tens of millions of Americans who are struggling to pay the rent, put food on the table, and pay for the basic necessities of life."
The Vermont lawmaker supports a more far-reaching student debt cancellation policy than Biden's and has called to cancel all student loan debt held by about 45 million Americans and make all public colleges, universities, and trade schools tuition-free.
—Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) June 30, 2023
A slew of Democratic lawmakers issued statements on Friday condemning the Supreme Court's decision and urging the Biden administration to take additional action to get borrowers relief. Multiple Democrats similarly attacked the high court's conservative majority for what they argued was corrupt protection of the wealthy.
"Justice Alito accepted tens of thousands of dollars in lavish vacation gifts from a billionaire who lobbied to cancel the student loan forgiveness," Ocasio-Cortez tweeted, referring to recent reporting that Justice Samuel Alito received gifts from a Republican billionaire with business before the Supreme Court. "After the gifts, Alito voted to overturn."
The decision to overturn Biden's proposed relief came in two separate rulings. The high court ruled that the plaintiffs in one case, US Department of Education v. Brown, did not have standing — but the second case, Biden v. Nebraska, prevailed and the six GOP-led states had standing to sue on behalf of student-loan company, MOHELA.
In her dissenting opinion, Justice Elena Kagan said that the Court's decision to reign back how Congress delegates its power — in this case, under the HEROES Act — "is a major problem not just for governance, but for democracy too." She said the court's role is to stay away from making policy and policy judgments; but, in cases like this, the court instead makes itself the arbiter of policy.
Sanders, who is an elected representative — unlike the justices — agrees.
"In my view, if right-wing Supreme Court justices want to make public policy they should quit the Supreme Court and run for political office. Frankly, I do not think their extremist views will gain much traction with the average American voter," he said in his statement.