McCarthy: Student loan payment pause ‘gone’ under debt deal
(The Hill) — Speaker Kevin McCarthy said on Sunday that the student loan payment pause is “gone” in the debt ceiling deal announced by the California Republican and President Biden late Saturday night.
“The pause is gone within 60 days of this being signed. So that is another victory because that brings in $5 billion each month to the American public,” McCarthy told anchor Shannon Bream on “Fox News Sunday.”
McCarthy’s remarks came after he and Biden came to an agreement in principle late Saturday to cap spending and raise the debt ceiling.
“What the president did, he went unconstitutionally and said he was going to waive certain people part of their debt for student loan, but then he paused everybody’s student loan. So everybody who borrowed a student loan within 60 days of the signing is going to have to pay that back,” McCarthy said on Sunday.
“The Supreme Court is taking up that case. But if the Supreme Court came back and said that was unconstitutional, the president could still say he’s pausing, not waiving it. But now that this is in law, the Supreme Court decision will have to be upheld, that they would have to pay,” he added.
McCarthy said Saturday that the text of the bill could be released Sunday, with a vote expected in the House as soon as Wednesday.