The White House went on offense Thursday, singling out top Republican critics of its sweeping student loan forgiveness plan by name for having previously received loan forgiveness from the government.
In a series of biting tweets, the White House’s verified Twitter account highlighted how GOP Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (GA), Matt Gaetz (FL), Markwayne Mullin (OK), Kevin Hern (OK), Mike Kelly (PA), and Vern Buchanan (FL) all received loan reprieves under the Paycheck Protection Program.
BIDEN ANNOUNCES MASS STUDENT LOAN FORGIVENESS PROGRAM
“Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene had $183,504 in PPP loans forgiven,” the White House tweeted in response to a clip of Greene decrying the student loan forgiveness as “completely unfair.”
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene had $183,504 in PPP loans forgiven.https://t.co/4FoCymt8TB
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) August 25, 2022
That tweet drew a response from conservative commentator Ben Shapiro, who pointed out that the PPP program was created by Congress in response to government-imposed pandemic suppression measures that shuttered businesses across the country. PPP was a program aimed at helping small businesses stay afloat amid the pandemic.
“So it is now the White House’s position that if the government forces you to shut down your business and provides you just compensation to keep people employed, that’s the same thing as you failing to pay the college loans you voluntarily undertook. Geniuses,” he tweeted in a pointed rebuke.
So it is now the White House’s position that if the government forces you to shut down your business and provides you just compensation to keep people employed, that’s the same thing as you failing to pay the college loans you voluntarily undertook. Geniuses. pic.twitter.com/omisWPetaY
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) August 25, 2022
The White House also called attention to a slew of tweets and other comments made by other Republican members of Congress.
Congressman Markwayne Mullin had over $1.4 million in PPP loans forgiven.https://t.co/Vc7mLQa2RS
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) August 25, 2022
Congressman Mike Kelly had $987,237 in PPP loans forgiven.https://t.co/Syb5Oe8gDG
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) August 25, 2022
Congressman Matt Gaetz had $482,321 in PPP loans forgiven.https://t.co/XPgC0pETkp
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) August 25, 2022
Washington Examiner columnist Tim Carney chimed in on the exchange, accusing the White House of being dishonest with its biting tweets.
“The unavoidable premise here is that if you ever benefited from a government program, you are out of line for criticizing any other government program. It’s so dishonest and foul,” he tweeted.
The unavoidable premise here is that if you ever benefited from a government program, you are out of line for criticizing any other government program. It’s so dishonest and foul. https://t.co/PcovMYKs64
— Tim Carney (@TPCarney) August 25, 2022
Absent from the White House’s Twitter targets were any of the Democrats who voiced concerns about the student loan forgiveness plan. A handful of Democrats in Congress, particularly ones vying for reelection in tough races, such as Reps. Chris Pappas (NH) and Tim Ryan (OH) raised concerns about the forgiveness plan.
Left-leaning economists such as Larry Summers and Jason Furman also criticized the move.
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On Wednesday, Biden unveiled a plan to cancel $10,000 worth of federal student loans from borrowers with less than $125,000 a year income, as well as $20,000 for borrowers who had Pell Grants during their schooling. Additionally, he extended the moratorium on federal student loan payments to Dec. 31.
In keeping with my campaign promise, my Administration is announcing a plan to give working and middle class families breathing room as they prepare to resume federal student loan payments in January 2023.
I’ll have more details this afternoon. pic.twitter.com/kuZNqoMe4I
— President Biden (@POTUS) August 24, 2022
The move came after months of speculation and mounting pressure from Biden’s base to provide relief to the roughly 40 million people with about $1.7 trillion in student loans.
Many Republicans, including those trolled by the White House on Thursday, decried the move as unfair to individuals who paid off their loans or refrained from taking on hefty loads of student debt.
