Biden's announcement on Wednesday that the government would forgive $10,000 in student loans for borrowers making less than $125,000 a year — and $20,000 for Pell Grant recipients — spurred largely predictable reactions from progressive Democrats and Republicans.
Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel called the move "Biden's bailout for the wealthy." Progressives praised the move but some said the forgiveness wasn't enough.
But Biden's latest move on student loan debt forgiveness could put one group in an awkward position: vulnerable Democrats, who need to appeal to both voters thrilled with the loan relief and those concerned about its effects on inflation.
The National Republican Congressional Campaign Committee (NRCC) sought to tie Democratic Virginia Reps. Abigail Spanberger, Elaine Luria and Jennifer Wexton to the administration's move.
"Will Elaine Luria, Abigail Spanberger and Jennifer Wexton condemn this irresponsible plan that will make inflation even worse?" an NRCC press release asked.
The Hill caught up with Spanberger on Tuesday shortly after news of Biden's impending broke.
"One of the things I think we need to be talking about is the overall expense related to higher education," Spanberger said. "While there's many opinions about loan forgiveness, how much it should be, how much it shouldn't be, minimums, maximums, all of the rest, the bottom line is that we continue to see education prices go up year by year at really exorbitant rates."
Other center left Democrats have echoed this sentiment, arguing that the message needs to be about tackling education institution's role in the cost of higher education.
"The Biden administration is taking this action, it's not being voted on by the front-liners who have to win in these districts," said Lanae Erickson, senior vice president for social policy, education, and politics at the center left think tank Third Way. "But they can talk about the fact that this has to be the beginning, not the end, and that we need to reform our higher education system so we're not back here again in five years because this cannot be an every five years problem."
The Hill's Julia Manchester has more on how Democrats facing tough reelection bids are reacting to news of Biden's announcement.
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