Joe Biden was told NOT to cancel student loan debt by Janet Yellen and Jill - but Kamala pushed him to do it and the $1TRILLION scheme was unveiled before it was properly costed
August 26, 2022
Joe Biden on Wednesday announced that $10,000 in student loans would be cancelled for those earning under $125,000
On Friday it emerged that the Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen, and his wife Jill urged Biden not to go ahead with the policy
It was supported by Kamala Harris, Chuck Schumer, Elizabeth Warren and Raphael Warnock, according to The New York Times
Biden's advisors were split: Chief of Staff Ron Klain said it would appeal to younger voters, but political advisor Mike Donilon said Americans were unsure
It also emerged that the rollout was rushed, with the loan service companies not warned and White House economists unclear of the precise cost
Joe Biden was warned by the Treasury Secretary and his wife not to cancel student debt, but pressed ahead regardless on the urging of Kamala Harris, it has been claimed.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen argued that with inflation around a 40-year high, the cancellation of student loans could free up consumer spending and drive inflation higher, the New York Times reported.
Jill Biden, who works part-time as a college lecturer, also urged her husband to reconsider. She campaigned on free community college, but did not push for the cancellation of debt.
The president ultimately chose to ignore their advice - after being cajoled on the subject by Vice President Kamala Harris, who was in favor of loan cancelations.
Mike Donilon, one of Biden's closest political advisers, told him polling showed Americans were split on the issue.
Yet Ron Klain, his chief of staff, said it could be a popular move with younger voters, heading into the midterms.
One of the most 'persistent' supporters of debt relief was the vice president, Kamala Harris.
In February she tasked her team with creating a memo detailing Biden's concerns about debt relief and countering them one by one,The New York Times said.
He was eventually persuaded to do so by his Vice President Kamala Harris, as well as New York State Senator Chuck Schumer, who has been nagging Biden about the issue since shortly after his inauguration last year.
The president on Wednesday announced that anyone earning less than $125,000 would have $10,000 wiped off their student loans.
On Friday, The New York Times reported that many within the White House had significant doubts about the wisdom of the plan - and that, despite months of lobbying from both sides, the rollout had been so rushed the loan companies were uninformed and White House economists had no idea how much the scheme will cost.
One estimate, by Wharton School of Business, puts the cost at up to $1 trillion.
They believe it will cost between $300-980 billion over the 10-year budget window, and concluded that about 70 percent of debt relief accrues to borrowers in the top 60 percent of the income distribution - something which supporters of the policy insisted was not the case.
Sauce/more: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11151469/Biden-told-NOT-cancel-student-loan-debt-Janet-Yellen-Jill-Kamala-pushed-him.html
Sources familiar with the matter report that Jake Sullivan and Anthony Blinken suggested throwing Slutzilla under the bus. Anonymous sources state that Biden enjoyed this suggestion and starting sniffing indiscriminately.