GREENSBORO, N.C. — Presidential candidate Senator Elizabeth Warren is making waves with one of her campaign promises.
She tweeted today that student loan debt is holding back the economy and she'll "act on day one of her presidency to start canceling student debt and getting relief to families."
So it begs the question: can a president do that?
The short answer is “not quite.” It couldn’t happen right away and they’d need some help.
According to law, the federal government can forgive any debt. But Congress usually holds that power.
Warren's campaign cites the 1965 Higher education act that gives the department of education broad powers to run a college student loan program.
That includes the ability to waive any debt without any congressional approval.
Now here's where things get interesting. If a president takes this action, they'd likely face a ton of legal challenges. So the secretary of education would have to do it. As you may remember from 2017, the president handpicks the secretary of education, but they have to be confirmed by congress.
If the Senate is still controlled by republicans this could become a major sticking point in the confirmation process for Warren, or Senator Bernie Sanders, who's made similar promises.
The bottom line here: forgiving student loan debt couldn't be done on day one. However, depending on the congressional make-up, it could happen pretty quickly or take forever.