This week the conservative majority on the Supreme Court earned its Ultra-MAGA wings as they delivered rulings that were flagrantly slanted in favor of the regressive Republican agenda. Despite the GOP’s perennial position in opposition to judicial activism, that is precisely what the Court exercised in ruling against President Biden’s student debt relief program.
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The blatantly biased right-wingers on the court decided 6-3 that Biden didn’t have the authority to execute what was already law as stated in the HEROES (Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students) Act that Congress had passed in 2003. The Act authorizes the President to direct the Secretary of Education to “waive or modify” up to $20,000 in student loans during national emergencies, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. That relief would have impacted more than 40 million Americans.
RELATED: GOP Reactions to the Supreme Court’s Affirmative Action Ruling Affirms Bias for the Privileged
It has been noted by Democrats and numerous legal analysts that the President’s implementation was entirely appropriate. Their hypocritical critics struggled to argue against it despite many of them having had their own loans under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) forgiven for sums that went into the millions of dollars.
These are just a few of the rich Republicans who had hundreds of thousands of dollars in business loans forgiven, but don't want working-class Americans with student loans to get relief of under $20K. pic.twitter.com/5N9cO09BdP
— News Corpse (@NewsCorpse) July 1, 2023
Blithely ignoring their hypocrisy and deceit, Fox News entered the debated with a loaded question asked by their White House correspondent, Jacqui Heinrich, at Biden’s press conference….
Heinrich: “Mr. President, why did you give millions of borrowers false hope? You doubted your own authority here in the past.”
Biden: “I didn’t give any false hope. The question ws whether I was giving them more than what 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 the Republicans snatched away the hope that they were given – and it’s real, real hope.”
Reporter: “Mr. President, why did you give millions of borrowers false hope? You doubted your own authority here in the past.”
President Biden: “I didn’t give any false hope … But the Republicans snatched away the hope that they were given — and it’s real, real hope.” pic.twitter.com/fLo1wIMHQz
— The Recount (@therecount) June 30, 2023
It isn’t surprising that Fox News would try to twist their questions into disparaging accusations. They have a backroom operation that is dedicated to that task. What’s surprising is that they do it so badly. In this case Biden was able to easily bat that inquiry into the bleachers. Which likely means that Heinrich will never get her appearance at the event aired on her network. Fox News viewers will also likely never hear about Biden’s proposals on behalf of student borrowers in the wake of the decision.
And as if that weren’t bad enough, Fox News also posted a graphic on Twitter that featured part of Justice Roberts’ opinion in the student loan matter. It read, “It has become a disturbing feature of some recent opinions to criticize the decisions with which they disagree as going beyond the proper role of the judiciary.”
WHUT?
So Supreme Court Justice John Roberts thinks that people shouldn't be able to criticize decisions with which they disagree? That's a bit "dictatory" don't ya think? And Fox News adds the "demonizing" angle. https://t.co/yWt2SG6rmY
— News Corpse (@NewsCorpse) July 1, 2023
It is telling that Roberts thought it was necessary to preemptively complain about any criticism of the decision even as he was writing the opinion for it. He must have known how awful it was.
However, what is really “disturbing” is that Roberts thinks it’s appropriate to stifle the free speech of anyone who disagrees with him. Especially when they are right about his having gone “beyond the proper role of the judiciary.” Not to mention that he is presiding over a court wherein he and his conservative colleagues have been engaging in brazenly unethical practices to enrich themselves.
SEE ALSO: Fox News Prompts GOP Senator to Frame Clarence Thomas’ Documented Corruption as ‘Attacks’
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