Biden bristles at reporter asking if he gave student loan borrowers ‘false hope’

President Biden on Friday disputed the suggestion that he gave student loan borrowers “false hope” after his plan to offer relief of up to $20,000 in debt was struck down by the Supreme Court.

“I didn’t give any false hope,” Biden said in response to a question from a reporter. “The question was whether or not I would do even more than was requested. What I did I thought was appropriate and was able to be done and would get done. I didn’t give borrowers false hope. But Republicans snatched away the hope they were given, and it’s real. Real hope.”

Asked if he thought he overstepped his authority, Biden said he thought the Supreme Court “misinterpreted the Constitution.”

The Supreme Court earlier Friday blocked the Biden administration’s student debt relief plan in a 6-3 decision, stopping more than 40 million borrowers from receiving loan forgiveness and delivering a major defeat to one of the president’s key campaign promises.

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More on SCOTUS’s student loans ruling from The Hill

• Supreme Court strikes down Biden’s student debt forgiveness plan
• Supreme Court blocks student loan forgiveness: What should borrowers do now?
• Student loan decision: Kagan says court ‘exceeds its proper, limited role’
• READ: Supreme Court rulings on Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan

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Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for himself and his five conservative colleagues, ruled Congress had not authorized the executive branch to forgive the debts that are estimated at hundreds of billions of dollars. 

Biden’s plan would have canceled up to $20,000 in loans for Pell Grant recipients and $10,000 for other borrowers, if the individual’s income is below $125,000. The income limit was doubled for married couples.

The president said Friday he directed his administration to offer debt relief through the Higher Education Act. He said the new path would be “legally sound” but would take longer to deliver relief.