Lawmaker says it's time to sue Biden over student loan debt for usurping power of Congress

An influential conservative congressman says it is time for lawmakers to sue President Joe Biden to block the cancellation of hundreds of billions of dollars of student loan debt, challenging the plan on the grounds that it usurps the power of Congress to make laws.

"I would jump all over this," Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) told the "Just the News, Not Noise" television show when asked about the lawsuit. "We will join together."

He said lawmakers home for summer recess are hearing lots of anger about the plan and suggested the conservative and growing Freedom Caucus in the House could take the lead in litigation.

"I think other members of the Freedom Caucus, and to be honest with you, just members in Congress," he said. "We are getting an earful. I think House and Senate, because this has really never been done before. And where do you stop it?

"Are you going to start making house payments? Forgiveness of debt? Are you going to do car payments? Where does it end?"

The concerns about the legality of Biden using executive powers to cancel debt first started with Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, more than a year ago.

"People think that the President of the United States has the power for debt forgiveness. He does not," Pelosi told a July 2021 news conference. "He can postpone. He can delay. But he does not have that power. That has to be an act of Congress."

Pelosi has since changed her tune, but the threats of legal challenges are growing.

The small business lobby Job Creators Network, which successfully challenged Biden's vaccine mandates for private businesses last year, is among those considering litigation to challenge the debt cancellation.

"We know that this is going to hurt the economy. ... Up to a trillion dollars here that's going to hurt the economy," JCN President Alfredo Ortiz told Just the News earlier this week, explaining the rationale for businesses to sue. "We know it's going to ... lead to higher deficits. We know it's going to lead to higher taxes, because somebody's got to actually pay the bill. And it's going to be inflationary.”

Norman said everyday Americans understand those consequences and also have fundamental questions about fairness.

Biden "is intent on buying votes, which he thinks he will do," Norman said. "And it's such a slap in the face of those who didn't attend college. It's a slap in the face for those who are ... going to be saddled with this debt. And everywhere I go in South Carolina, people are livid about this. It's not fair."

He added: "I think the lawsuits will come."