Nearly 100 House Republicans are giving House Speaker Nancy Pelosi an opportunity at something Democrats regularly say they want.
Bipartisanship.
And they are using Pelosi’s own words to remind her of that.
Led by Georgia Republican Rep. Jody Hice and Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, 94 GOP lawmakers on Friday issued Pelosi a letter complaining about President Joe Biden’s “massive executive overreach” in proposing to “illegally cancel federal student loan debt.”
Hice and Stefanik recalled Biden’s move last week to shift onto taxpayers an estimated $300 billion in student-loan debt for people making $125,000 a year or less.
As The Free Press has reported, though, the Penn Wharton Budget Model at the University of Pennsylvania has estimated the cost could be triple that amount.
“Noticeably absent from the President’s plan is any plausible legal authority to implement such a policy,” they write. “No provision of the Constitution nor any act of Congress, including the Higher Education Act, grants President Biden or the Secretary of Education the authority that they falsely claim to wield through this unilateral action,” the GOP lawmakers wrote.
“Thankfully,” they add to Pelosi, “you have previously expressed your agreement with us on this point.”
That was a reference the San Francisco Democrat made in July 2021. Commenting on the issue then, Pelosi had said, “People think that the president of the United States has the power for debt forgiveness. He does not. He can postpone. He can delay. But he does not have that power. That has to be an act of Congress.’
Pelosi has since flipped and applauded Biden for this giveaway to well-heeled college grads.
“Although we may disagree on many things,” the Republicans added, “your statement in July 2021 was correct. President Biden’s student loan giveaway is unconstitutional and illegal.”
Given her role, they noted, “It is imperative that you act immediately in defense of our Constitution and the powers of the legislative branch.”
They then asked Pelosi if she was still willing “to stand up to the blatant overreach.”
“This is an illegal act by a president desperate for a political win. We hope you will heed your own words and act to defend the Constitution and the rule of law.”
In a statement issued Friday, Hice added, “I’m demanding that Speaker Pelosi decisively act and stand by her previous statement – a direct repudiation of President Biden’s executive overreach.”
“President Biden is a desperate politician. His plan to transfer $300 billion of debt onto the backs of hardworking American taxpayers is a politically craven stunt that makes a mockery of our Constitution and the rule of law.”
“Speaker Pelosi has a choice to make. Will she cave to the President’s shockingly illegal act or will she back up her own words by taking swift action?”
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Free Press.
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