Ayanna Pressley: ‘You Can’t Be Anti-Racist’ If You’re Against Canceling Student Loan Debt

Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., speaks at a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington,
AP Photo/Andrew Harnik

Far-left “Squad” member Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) on Monday suggested it is not possible for an individual to be “anti-racist” if they are against canceling student loan debt.

Pressley, who has continued to advocate for eliminating the bulk of student loan debt, tied support for the policy to being “anti-racist.”

“You can’t be anti-racist if you’re anti student debt cancellation,” she said in a social media post to her one million Twitter followers:

Radical Democrats have pressed the Biden administration to cancel $50,000 in student loan debt — a figure Biden has failed to embrace, consistently signifying a willingness to cancel $10,000 in student loan debt.

“I will not make that happen,” he said of canceling $50,000 in student loan debt, making the remarks during a February CNN town hall. He added he is “prepared to write off a $10,000 debt”:

In February, Pressley encouraged Democrats to go big on the coronavirus relief measure, calling for $2,000 monthly checks for Americans and non-citizens, including illegal aliens, as well as the cancellation of “at least $50K in student debt right now”:

Days later, Pressley tied canceling student loan debt to race, framing it as a way to “thank Black women.”

“You want to thank Black women?” she asked. “Cancel student debt — all of it. Black women carry more student debt than any other group in America.”

“Save your words of appreciation. Policy is our love language,” she added:

Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus; Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) are among high-profile Democrats calling for the Biden to effectively erase $50,000 in student loan debt.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki has since said the administration is examining ways to cancel student loan debt.

“He was reiterating his previous stated position, which is that he doesn’t favor $50,000 in student loan relief without limitations,” she told reporters following Biden’s CNN town hall.

Biden “will ask them [the Department of Justice] to conduct a legal review of his authority to act on executive action in conjunction with a policy review from his Domestic Policy Council on how executive action debt relief, if any, should be targeted,” she added.

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