{"id":2316501,"date":"2024-07-31T07:32:02","date_gmt":"2024-07-31T11:32:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-harris-administration-keeps-breaking-the-law-to-buy-votes\/"},"modified":"2024-07-31T10:34:43","modified_gmt":"2024-07-31T14:34:43","slug":"biden-harris-administration-keeps-breaking-the-law-to-buy-votes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-harris-administration-keeps-breaking-the-law-to-buy-votes\/","title":{"rendered":"Biden-Harris Administration Keeps Breaking The Law To Buy Votes"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fbiden-harris-administration-keeps-breaking-the-law-to-buy-votes%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2316501&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A federal appeals court has blocked President Biden&#8217;s latest initiative to transfer\u2064 unpaid student-loan debt to American taxpayers, following \u200ba previous \u200bSupreme Court \u200cruling against a similar plan in the case \u2063of *Biden v. Nebraska*. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona \u2063has \u200bfaced criticism for sending what many perceived as politically charged emails to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/most-student-loan-borrowers-made-no-payments-during-freeze\/\" title=\"Most Student-Loan Borrowers Made No Payments During Freeze\">student-loan borrowers<\/a>, suggesting that the administration would continue with the Savings on a \u2062Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan despite legal obstacles. \u2063Critics argue \u200cthis approach violates the Hatch Act, which <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/department-of-education-attacks-republicans-in-official-letter\/\" title=\"Department of Education Attacks Republicans in Official Letter\">prohibits partisan political activity<\/a> by federal employees.\u2064 The Biden administration\u200d is attempting to navigate around court rulings by \u200bclaiming authority under the\u2063 Higher Education\u200d Act to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-has-no-plan-b-if-scotus-strikes-down-student-debt-bailout\/\" title=\"Biden Has No Plan B If SCOTUS Strikes Down Student Debt Bailout\">implement debt cancellation<\/a>. The Supreme Court previously emphasized that significant debt cancellation requires explicit congressional approval. As the \u200dlower courts react to the administration&#8217;s efforts, judges have raised concerns \u200babout its legality based \u2064on these Supreme Court precedents.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>A federal appeals court just blocked President Biden&rsquo;s latest plan to transfer outstanding student-loan debt to hard-working American taxpayers. This comes one year after the Supreme Court struck down another version of the plan in <em>Biden v. Nebraska<\/em>. But the president and his team won&rsquo;t let courts get in the way. The latest example of this blatant disregard for the law comes courtesy of Education Secretary Miguel Cardona.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this month, Cardona <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/NotK_US\/status\/1812599913664111047\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">sent an email<\/a> from the U.S. Department of Education&rsquo;s account to student-loan borrowers that read like campaign propaganda: &ldquo;In recent weeks, several federal courts have issued rulings in lawsuits brought by Republican elected officials who are siding with special interests.&rdquo; Cardona continued: &ldquo;[N]o matter how many times Republican elected officials try to stop us&rdquo; &ldquo;our Administration will continue to implement the SAVE Plan to the fullest extent.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Translation: Even though our plan is illegal, we&rsquo;re going to do it anyway. The message violates the 1939 Hatch Act, which prohibits federal employees from engaging in partisan activity while on duty, in a federal facility, or using federal property.<\/p>\n<p>Cardona&rsquo;s illegal message is only one example of the Biden administration attempting to get around adverse court rulings. In addition to violating the Hatch Act, Biden administration officials <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/briefing-room\/statements-releases\/2024\/04\/08\/president-joe-biden-outlines-new-plans-to-deliver-student-debt-relief-to-over-30-million-americans-under-the-biden-harris-administration\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">are using<\/a> the Higher Education Act (HEA) to circumvent their loss before the Supreme Court by canceling debt under the guise of regulating student aid programs. They&rsquo;re calling this new initiative the <a href=\"https:\/\/studentaid.gov\/announcements-events\/save-plan\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Saving on a Valuable Education<\/a> (SAVE) Plan.<\/p>\n<p>This is completely without precedent. The president and his appointees at the Department of Education are mistaken if they think that the Supreme Court&rsquo;s decision in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/opinions\/22pdf\/22-506_nmip.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Biden v. Nebraska<\/em><\/a><em> <\/em>has nothing to say about it.<\/p>\n<p>At least two of that decision&rsquo;s conclusions are relevant: First, the court recognized that in the HEA, Congress authorized the department to shift student debt to taxpayers only in a limited set of rigorously defined circumstances. Second, the court characterized large-scale cancellation of student debt as a matter of &ldquo;staggering&rdquo; &ldquo;economic and political significance&rdquo; that the president is powerless to address without <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/federal-judge-blocks-biden-administrations-vaccine-mandate-for-federal-contractors\/\" title=\"Federal Judge Blocks Biden Administration&#039;s Vaccine Mandate for Federal Contractors\">clear congressional authorization<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The significance of those premises may have been lost on the Biden administration, but it has not been lost on the lower courts. In partially halting the implementation of the SAVE Plan, two Democrat-appointed judges relied on precisely those portions of <em>Biden v. Nebraska<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>In Kansas, for example, U.S. District Judge Daniel D. Crabtree <a href=\"https:\/\/fingfx.thomsonreuters.com\/gfx\/legaldocs\/byvrqkgqzpe\/06242024student_kansas.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">found<\/a> that the Biden administration&rsquo;s attempt to renovate the HEA&rsquo;s modest dimensions represented a &ldquo;transformative expansion in regulatory authority,&rdquo; beyond anything Congress clearly contemplated. In Missouri, his colleague John A. Ross <a href=\"https:\/\/www.moed.uscourts.gov\/sites\/moed\/files\/documents\/4-24-cv-00520-35.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">found<\/a> <em>Biden v. Nebraska<\/em> &ldquo;instructive&rdquo; as he reasoned that it was &ldquo;far from clear that Congress has expressly granted the Secretary&rdquo; authority for SAVE&rsquo;s debt cancellations.<\/p>\n<p>The Biden administration&rsquo;s SAVE Plan is illegal. So is its attempt to use Education Department emails to campaign. Policymakers should continue to take the administration to court to protect students and taxpayers from these executive breaches of authority.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, the Office of Special Counsel (which enforces the Hatch Act) should remind Cardona and other Education Department personnel of their duty to use public time and public money for the public good, not for clumsily churning out campaign fodder. And the inspector general of the Department of Education should initiate an investigation to determine whether Secretary Cardona has violated the Hatch Act. <\/p>\n<p>If the Biden administration wants to &ldquo;lower the temperature&rdquo; of political rhetoric, its members could start by not including such rhetoric in emails sent by the U.S. Department of Education.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Jack Fitzhenry is a legal fellow in The Heritage Foundation&rsquo;s Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies. Jonathan Butcher is the Will Skillman Senior Research Fellow in Education Policy at The Heritage Foundation.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A federal appeals court has recently halted President Biden&#8217;s new initiative to shift outstanding student loan debt onto diligent American taxpayers. This decision follows a Supreme Court ruling from a year ago that invalidated a previous iteration of the plan in Biden v. Nebraska. Nevertheless, the president and his administration are determined to proceed despite judicial obstacles. A recent instance of this disregard for legal boundaries was demonstrated by Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, who sent an email from the U.S. Department of Education to student loan borrowers that resembled campaign material: \u201cIn recent weeks, several federal courts have issued rulings in lawsuits brought by Republican officials siding with special interests.\u201d He further stated, \u201c[N]o matter how many times Republican elected officials try to stop us,\u201d \u201cour Administration will continue to implement the SAVE Plan fully.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>In essence, this implies that even if our plan is deemed illegal, we intend to move forward regardless. This communication breaches the 1939 Hatch Act, which forbids federal employees from engaging in partisan activities while on duty or using government resources.<\/p>\n<p>Cardona\u2019s unlawful message is just one instance of how the Biden administration is attempting to bypass unfavorable court decisions. Besides violating the Hatch Act, officials are leveraging the Higher Education Act (HEA) as a means to sidestep their defeat at the Supreme Court by canceling debt under the pretense of regulating student aid programs through what they call the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan.<\/p>\n<p>This approach lacks precedent. The president and his appointees at the Department of Education are mistaken if they believe that their actions do not contradict findings from Biden v. Nebraska.<\/p>\n<p>Two key conclusions from that ruling are particularly relevant: First, it acknowledged that Congress only authorized limited circumstances under which student debt could be transferred to taxpayers via HEA provisions; second, it described large-scale student debt cancellation as having \u201cstaggering\u201d economic and political implications\u2014an issue beyond presidential authority without explicit congressional approval.<\/p>\n<p>While these points may have been overlooked by some within the Biden administration, lower courts have taken notice. In Kansas, U.S. District Judge Daniel D. Crabtree noted that attempts by Biden\u2019s team to expand HEA\u2019s scope represented an unprecedented increase in regulatory power not envisioned by Congress; similarly in Missouri, Judge John A. Ross found guidance in Biden v. Nebraska when questioning whether Congress had granted clear authority for SAVE&#8217;s proposed debt cancellations.<\/p>\n<p>The SAVE Plan put forth by this administration is illegal as well as its use of Department emails for campaigning purposes should be challenged legally for protecting students and taxpayers against these executive overreaches.<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, it would be prudent for the Office of Special Counsel\u2014which oversees compliance with Hatch Act regulations\u2014to remind Cardona and other staff members about their obligation to utilize public resources responsibly rather than producing politically charged content disguised as official communication; additionally an investigation should be initiated into whether Secretary Cardona has breached these regulations.<\/p>\n<p>If members of this administration genuinely wish to reduce political tensions surrounding rhetoric they could begin with refraining from incorporating such language into communications sent out via U.S Department channels<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3332,"featured_media":2316502,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Copy-of-Untitled-60.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[34137,32644,6547,36160,36751],"class_list":["post-2316501","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","tag-biden-harris-administration","tag-election-integrity","tag-law","tag-political-controversy","tag-vote-buying"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Copy-of-Untitled-60.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2316501","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3332"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2316501"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2316501\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2316502"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2316501"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2316501"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2316501"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}