DETROIT – Today, Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (MI-12) issued the following statement regarding the Supreme Court’s decision to block President Biden’s student debt relief plan:

“The Supreme Court’s decision to strike down President Biden’s student debt relief plan will harm 43 million Americans, including the nearly 20 million people who would have their student debt wiped out completely. This corrupt majority on the Supreme Court have denied working class Americans the freedom to begin families, buy homes, and the ability to build generational wealth, all while boosting their own lives of luxury by accepting lavish trips and bribes from billionaires with business before the Court.

“This unhinged Court continues to undermine its own legitimacy while doing the bidding of right-wing extremists from the bench and found a way to block the President’s debt relief program despite his clear legal authority. Apparently, Justice Thomas has no problem secretly taking payments from billionaire Republican megadonors to pay for his own family’s education, and these justices have no problem with the cancellation of millions of dollars of PPP loans for the wealthy Republicans in Congress, but any attempt to support everyday working people struggling to make ends meet is out of the question. 

“No American should face financial ruin for wanting an education. I will continue to fight like hell until the American people get the student debt relief they deserve. The Biden Administration must continue to explore all legal options to deliver this much needed relief—including invoking its power under the Higher Education Act. We will not accept a return to the failed status quo. Before the pandemic, more than a quarter of borrowers were behind on their payments, nine million borrowers were in default, and one borrower defaulted every 26 seconds.

“My residents are calling on me to move with the urgency this moment demands. If we’re going to stop this corrupt, far-right majority from continuing to strip away our rights, overturn decades of settled law, and advance their own extreme political agenda—while protecting the rich and powerful—we must reform and expand the Supreme Court without delay.”

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