Pelosi distances herself from Schumer's call for Biden to forgive student debt

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Wednesday appeared to distance herself Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and other Democrats who are calling on President Biden to cancel student debt via executive action.
"People think that the president of the United States has the power for debt forgiveness," Pelosi said while addressing orders. "He does not. He can postpone. He can delay. But he does not have that power. That ... has to be an act of Congress."
Schumer has previously said Biden needs only to "flick his pen" to sign forgiveness into action. Of course, making it a law, however unlikely, would theoretically prevent a future president from simply undoing an executive order, so Pelosi's argument does favor a more long-term solution for Democrats.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
That said, it's not entirely clear where the speaker falls on the issue. On Wednesday, she advocated for making college more affordable and attainable for Americans, but also seemed to signal that she wasn't fully on board with debt cancellation since it could face backlash from people whose children don't plan on pursuing tertiary education.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
May 31 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Saturday's political cartoons include how much to pay for a pardon, medical advice from a brain worm, and a simple solution to the national debt.
-
5 costly cartoons about the national debt
Cartoons Political cartoonists take on the USA's financial hole, rare bipartisan agreement, and Donald Trump and Mike Johnson.
-
Green goddess salad recipe
The Week Recommends Avocado can be the creamy star of the show in this fresh, sharp salad
-
White House tackles fake citations in MAHA report
speed read A federal government public health report spearheaded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was rife with false citations
-
Judge blocks push to bar Harvard foreign students
speed read Judge Allison Burroughs sided with Harvard against the Trump administration's attempt to block the admittance of international students
-
Trump's trade war whipsawed by court rulings
Speed Read A series of court rulings over Trump's tariffs renders the future of US trade policy uncertain
-
Elon Musk departs Trump administration
speed read The former DOGE head says he is ending his government work to spend more time on his companies
-
Trump taps ex-personal lawyer for appeals court
speed read The president has nominated Emil Bove, his former criminal defense lawyer, to be a federal judge
-
US trade court nullifies Trump's biggest tariffs
speed read The US Court of International Trade says Trump exceeded his authority in imposing global tariffs
-
Trump pauses all new foreign student visas
speed read The State Department has stopped scheduling interviews with those seeking student visas in preparation for scrutiny of applicants' social media
-
Trump pardons Virginia sheriff convicted of bribery
speed read Former sheriff Scott Jenkins was sentenced to 10 years in prison on federal bribery and fraud charges