Far-left Democrats, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), and Ro Khanna (D-CA), rallied on Wednesday to demand the cancellation of student loan debt, which President Biden signaled he is willing to do.
Activists gathered in the nation’s capital on Wednesday, demanding Biden take action after largely ignoring the issue over the past year:
“We are here to tell the president that with the stroke of pen, he can and should and must cancel student debt. Period,” Rep. Omar said during the rally, adding that the government has the responsibility to “make those wrongs right” — claiming that student loan debt is holding millions of people back:
“The federal government bailed out the banks. Trump and the Republicans gave huge tax cuts to the wealthy. Congress is about to hand $10 billion to Jeff Bezos to go the moon. Yes, we can afford to cancel all student debt,” Sanders said on the day of the rally:
“Nearly 90% of young people want us to take action on student debt. What are we waiting for? We promised action and now we must deliver. Cancel student debt,” Jayapal wrote on the same day, tagging President Biden:
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The rally follows reports of a meeting between Biden and members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, where he expressed a willingness to not only continue extending the pause on student loan payments, but canceling up to $10,000 in student debt per person. Rep. Tony Cárdenas (D-CA) reportedly pushed the issue and believes Biden was “incredibly positive” about the prospect of taking such action.
The possible action on student loans would come mere months ahead of the midterm elections, as Americans continue to sour on Biden and the Democrats’ handling of key issues plaguing the country.