On Wednesday, President Biden followed through on his threat and vetoed the bill that would have revoked his planned student debt bailout, CBS News reported.
Last Thursday, the Senate passed the House resolution 52 to 46, with Democrat Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV), Jon Tester (D-MT), and Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) voting with Republicans.
The House approved the measure in late May along party lines 218 to 203.
The bill invoked the Congressional Review Act, a law allowing Congress to revoke recently-enacted regulations and executive actions. Under the Congressional Review Act, resolutions only need a simple majority to pass.
The resolution would have revoked the president’s student debt bailout while blocking the Department of Education from attempting another bailout in the future. The measure would have also rolled back the Public Service Loan Forgiveness bailout while reinstating the student loans of those who received a bailout through the program.
The White House had vowed to veto the bill when it was passed in the House.
In a statement released by the White House on Wednesday, President Biden blasted lawmakers in Congress for pursuing an “unprecedented attempt to deny critical relief to millions” when many of those lawmakers accepted “tens of thousands of dollars” from the Paycheck Protection Program.
The president remains committed to his plan for bailing out up to $20,000 in student loan debt for 43 million borrowers, even as the plan is being considered in the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a lawsuit challenging the president’s bailout in February. A decision is expected at any time.
Now that the bill has been vetoed, it would require a two-thirds majority in both the House and Senate to override the veto. It is unlikely that Republicans have enough support in either chamber to override the anticipated veto, ultimately leaving the decision in the hands of the Supreme Court.
