In August, President Biden announced a loan cancellation plan that would erase an astonishing $400 billion in student debt — one of the most ambitious and expensive executive actions ever.Now, in a far-reaching case, the Supreme Court will decide whether the president is authorized to take such a big step.Guest: Adam Liptak, a Supreme Court correspondent for The New York Times.Background reading: The student loan case could redefine the limits of presidential power.Here’s how the arguments at the Supreme Court played out and what to expect in the coming days.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.
The New York Times' Sabrina Tavernisi reports on the student loan debt cancellation program proposed by President Biden, which is facing a case in the Supreme Court seeking to reverse the $400 billion in debt forgiveness. Sydney Harper interviews protestors outside the Supreme Court and asks for their personal debt amounts.
The question of whether the President has the power to forgive student loan debt has sparked a fierce legal and constitutional battle between Democrats and Republicans, with the former proposing widespread debt relief measures and the latter arguing that such actions are unconstitutional unless approved by Congress.
The Biden administration is proposing to forgive huge sums of student loan money which is not authorized by the Heroes Act, according to Chief Justice Roberts. Congress has to speak exceptionally clearly if it's a big enough deal, but Biden's plan to forgive a half a trillion dollars of debt is currently unauthorized.
The question of standing, or who has the right to bring a case before the Supreme Court, presents a challenge to the court, as it must navigate between the interests of parties seeking to sue and the constitutional limitations of the judiciary.
Israeli police clashed with thousands of protesters in Tel Aviv who were demonstrating against changes to the country's Supreme Court being made by the new government, which many see as a threat to Israeli democracy. Several dozen were arrested and some were injured.