In the majority opinion released on Friday, Chief Justice John Roberts cited former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) while striking down President Joe Biden’s student debt cancellation program.
The program aimed to provide loan forgiveness of up to $10,000 for federal student loan borrowers with incomes below a certain threshold, and up to $20,000 for Pell Grant recipients. However, the 6-3 ruling deemed the program unconstitutional, with Roberts stating that the COVID-era HEROES Act did not grant Biden unilateral authority to take action on the issue.
Roberts used a statement made by Pelosi to make his point: “People think that the President of the United States has the power for debt forgiveness. He does not,” she said in July of 2021. “He can postpone. He can delay. But he does not have that power. That has to be an act of Congress.”
