President Joe Biden said Thursday night he wasn’t aware of whether any White House staffers had student loans despite several news reports confirming that many do.
Biden was questioned about his staffers’ loans by a reporter on the White House South Lawn after returning from Philadelphia.
REPUBLICANS CRY FOUL OVER WHITE HOUSE STAFFERS WITH MILLIONS IN STUDENT LOANS
When asked about conservatives who want to challenge his student loans plan in court, Biden responded, “They have a right to do that. Do you have a student loan?”
The reporter said no, then turned the question around, responding, “I bet a lot of your staff does.”
“They may,” Biden said. “No one has told me they have.”
The denial comes despite major news outlets reporting that White House staffers hold millions of dollars in student loans, and members of Congress have brought up the loans to administration officials.
Some of the biggest beneficiaries of Biden’s student loans program work within the White House walls, according to Bloomberg. Financial disclosures from the Office of Government Ethics show 30 staffers hold more than $10,000 in loan debt.
Nearly 20% of all aides required to file the disclosures reported holding student loans, which totaled between $2 million and $4.7 million collectively. One staffer reported owing between $500,000 and $1 million. Many lower-level staffers didn’t have to report, nor did those owing less than $10,000, meaning the grand total is likely to be higher.
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The story was released in May, three months before Biden announced he would “cancel” $10,000 in student loans for borrowers earning less than $125,000 and $20,000 for those who received Pell Grants.
In June, a group of House Republicans penned a letter to Office of Government Ethics Director Emory Rounds, saying, “We are especially concerned that this policy may have been promulgated by White House staffers who stand to financially benefit from the decision, especially considering recent reports that White House political appointees owe millions in student loan debt.”
