Presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) said on Tuesday that she would start to forgive student debt on the first day of her presidency by using legal tools meant to bypass Congress.
“We have a student loan crisis — and we can’t afford to wait for Congress to act,” Warren said in a tweet that included a link to her student debt erasure plan. The U.S. Department of Education already has authority to cancel student debt, she added.
Warren also released a letter written by three legal experts that vouched for the legality of erasing student debt through executive action. The experts described it as “lawful and permissible.”
A 2014 Saturday Night Live skit on then President Obama’s attempts to create law around Congress.