When Ticketmaster's website crashed on Tuesday over Taylor Swift's concert presale, White House chief of staff Ron Klain bragged that the Biden administration's student loan forgiveness portal processed eight million applications without crashing. He failed to mention the program is stalled and has delivered no money.
"Over my years in the public and private sectors, I've had people tell me: If only the government could work like business," Klain tweeted. "Well, the team at [the Department of Education] and [the U.S. Digital Service] built a Student Loan Forgiveness portal that processed 8 MILLION applications in the first 30 hours without a crash."
Over my years in the public and private sectors, I've had people tell me: If only the government could work like business.
Well, the team at @USEdgov and @USDS built a Student Loan Forgiveness portal that processed 8 MILLION applications in the first 30 hours without a crash. https://t.co/VaaoTMVycg
— Ronald Klain (@WHCOS) November 15, 2022
The administration, however, stopped taking student loan forgiveness applications last week after a federal judge halted the program.
U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman ruled Nov. 10 that the program is beyond the president's authority. "The Program is thus an unconstitutional exercise of Congress's legislative power and must be vacated," he wrote.
Pittman added that "we are not ruled by an all-powerful executive with a pen and a phone."
The program would cost $400 billion, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.