Sen. Mitt Romney ripped into President Joe Biden on Wednesday following a report he may consider some measure of student loan forgiveness this summer, calling the debt cancellation a “bribe.”
Biden extended the current student loan payment moratorium that began under the Trump administration to Aug. 31. In a meeting with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Biden reportedly signaled he was ready to further extend the payment moratorium or cancel some debt altogether.
Biden said he was open to forgiving at least $10,000 in student debt, which would make good on a campaign pledge. That move would likely come before the current payment moratorium ends on Aug. 31.
In a tweet, Romney blasted the move as a desperate attempt from Biden to boost his flagging poll numbers.
“Desperate polls call for desperate measures: Dems consider forgiving trillions in student loans. Other bridge suggestions: Forgive auto loans? Forgive credit card debt? Forgive mortgages? And put a wealth tax on the super-rich to pay for it all? What could possibly go wrong?” Romney tweeted.
Sen. Mike Lee also slammed the move, tweeting “Forgiving student loans to redistribute wealth to your political supporters is patronage, and it is wrong.”
The spike in inflation and worries over the Russian invasion of Ukraine have dropped Biden’s approval ratings to around 40%. On average, more than 50% of Americans disapprove of his job performance.
Republicans have argued student debt cancellation would shift billions of dollars of debt to taxpayers and would harm the economy.
Romney’s tweet drew sharp criticism from other Twitter users, who took him to task for his personal wealth and history of supporting economic policies that primarily benefit the wealthy.
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