Yavapai News

U.S. Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz, praised the U.S. Supreme Court for declaring President Joe Biden’s executive order forgiving college student loans to be unconstitutional.

Biden issued and announced an executive order in August that would have forgiven up to $20,000 per student, at a total of $441 billion in relief for about 43 million borrowers nationwide, according to a Forbes article. The court ruled June 30 that the order was an unconstitutional overreach of executive power. As a result of the ruling, millions of borrowers must resume making monthly student loan payments in October.

“The Supreme Court's decision to strike down the Biden admin's student loan bailout is a win for taxpayers and fiscal sanity," Crane said in a June 30 Twitter post. “Hardworking Americans who chose not to go to college shouldn't be strapped with the debt of those who did.”

The president said he will take steps “aimed at providing debt relief for as many borrowers as possible, as fast as possible,” the White House responded in a statement. However, it's uncertain if or when Biden will attempt a different avenue of relief for borrowers as he promised, Forbes reported.

Under the initial terms of Biden's order, borrowers must have had federal student loans and earn less than $125,000 per year, or $250,000 per household, according to the Forbes report. Those who did were originally eligible up to $10,000 in debt cancellation. Those who received federal Pell Grants were eligible for up to $20,000.

Crane was elected to the House in 2022 to serve Arizona's 2nd District, according to his biography. A native of Tucson, Crane served in the Navy from 2001 to 2014, Ballotpedia reported. He co-founded and co-ran a business, Bottle Breacher, with his wife, Jen, making bottle openers from spent shell casings. He was a member of SEAL Team 3, according to Crane's House website.