President Joe Biden can't seem to bring his party together to back him on key legislative pieces.
According to the Daily Caller, the Biden administration's latest optics failure came via two Senate Democrats and one independent. The group joined 48 Senate Republicans in overturning his federal student loan forgiveness program.
The resolution was passed on Thursday, and it repeals his multi-billion dollar forgiveness program, which would have relied on American taxpayer dollars.
The Daily Caller noted:
The Congressional Review Act resolution, introduced in the upper chamber by Republican Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, would overturn the Department of Education’s 2022 move to forgive up to $20,000 in loans for some recipients. A companion resolution introduced by Republican Virginia Rep. Bob Good passed the House in May, 218-203.
Ultimately, Biden will veto the bill, but it's still a political bump in the road as the president gears up for a second run at the White House.
It's not saying much for his leadership style if he can't manage to round up his own party in the upper chamber to help him avoid a public relations mess.
By a vote of 52-46, the #Senate agreed to passage of H.J. Res. 45, Cassidy Student Loan Waivers CRA.
Democrats voting in favor: Senators Manchin & Tester
Independent voting in favor: Senator SinemaSenators Bennett & Warner did not vote.
— Senate Press Gallery (@SenatePress) June 1, 2023
Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV), John Tester (D-MT), and Independent Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema joined Senate Republicans in passing the legislation to repeal his burdensome and unfair program.
Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy (R) originally introduced the bill and explained why he believed it was necessary to pass.
"We preserved the ability for folks who don’t have the income, who’ve lost their job, who took a low-paying job, to still be able to get relief for their student loans. What this repeals is the student loan pause, but also this kind of, it doesn’t matter who you are or whether you’re in need, those folks who are getting their student loans transferred to the backs of American taxpayers. It’s not forgiven, it’s transferred."
He added, "It’s a vote for fairness."
It's estimated that the program will cost American taxpayers some $400 billion over the next decade, according to Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates, which has drawn intense criticism from Republicans and some on the left.
Biden’s student loan debt forgiveness scam is a slap in the face to tens of millions of Americans who paid their loans back, worked their way through college or took another path
I joined @FoxBusiness to talk about the bipartisan rebuke of his cynical act pic.twitter.com/3WseSqsyxo
— Eric Schmitt (@Eric_Schmitt) June 2, 2023
It's unclear when Biden will veto the bill.