Pelosi flip-flop: Speaker praises Biden ‘historic’ student debt handout despite saying he lacked authority

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'Outnumbered' reacts to Biden's student loan handout plan

The panel reacted to the president's announcement and discussed the political and economic implications affecting American taxpayers.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday praised what she called a "historic" move by President Biden to give a $10,000 handout to some student loan debt holders -- despite having previously said Biden doesn’t have the authority to do it.

Biden announced Wednesday that his administration will pay $10,000 of federal student loan debt for those making less than $125,000 a year, and $20,000 for Pell Grant recipients. 

"In keeping with my campaign promise, my Administration is announcing a plan to give working and middle class families breathing room as they prepare to resume federal student loan payments in January 2023," Biden tweeted. 

The nation's federal student debt now tops $1.6 trillion after ballooning for years. Meanwhile the national debt, according to the Treasury Department, currently sits at $30.7 trillion. 

BIDEN ANNOUNCES STUDENT LOAN HANDOUT AS NATIONAL DEBT SOARS 

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., speaks at a news conference at the Capitol Jan. 13, 2022. (C.Span screenshot )

Pelosi welcomed Biden's move in a statement, saying that Biden’s "bold action is a strong step in Democrats’ fight to expand access to higher education and empower every American to reach fulfillment."

"By delivering historic targeted student debt relief to millions of borrowers, more working families will be able to meet their kitchen table needs as they continue to recover from the challenges of the pandemic," she said. "Importantly, this action will help those most in need, easing a financial burden disproportionately harming women and people of color.

The warm statement is a sharp contrast from her remarks in July last year, when she said that only Congress, not the executive, could make such a handout.

BIDEN LACKS AUTHORITY FOR STUDENT DEBT HANDOUT, PELOSI WARNED LAST YEAR 

"People think that the President of the United States has the power for debt forgiveness; he does not," Pelosi said. "He can postpone, he can delay, but he does not have that power. That has to be an act of Congress."

She also appeared to question whether such a policy was fair.

"Suppose…your child just decided they, at this time, [did] not want to go to college but you’re paying taxes to forgive somebody else’s obligations. You may not be happy about that," Pelosi said, before adding that she does not want children to be prohibited from going to college for financial reasons.

Her remarks clashed with those of other Democrats like Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who had claimed that Biden could scrap student loan debt "with the flick of a pen."

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Biden had campaigned on dishing out $10,000 to eligible borrowers, but the scrutiny on such a move has only increased as inflation has soared since he took office. 

AMERICANS ALREADY REACTING TO BIDEN'S STUDENT LOAN HANDOUT PLAN: 'HIGHLY SUSPICIOUS'

Some left-wing activists had pushed for Biden to go further, with some calling for the government to abolish all student debt. Opponents of the handouts have pointed to analyses that say that a big spending spree like this will only serve to exacerbate inflationary pressures.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell slammed the move, saying Democrats have "found yet another way to make inflation even worse, reward far-left activists, and achieve nothing for millions of working American families who can barely tread water."

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"President Biden’s student loan socialism is a slap in the face to every family who sacrificed to save for college, every graduate who paid their debt, and every American who chose a certain career path or volunteered to serve in our Armed Forces in order to avoid taking on debt," McConnell said. "This policy is astonishingly unfair."

Fox News’ Brooke Singman contributed to this report.