The White House was still reeling from the collapse of Build Back Better. And some MAGA advocates in the media have argued that $200 billion in K-12 pandemic aid is underspent. So we knew we wanted to avoid relying on Congress or being responsible for funding.
The President took me to the Oval. He looked at me coolly, and his youthful energy was unmistakable. “Our people are angry. “We have to give them more,” he said. “Can we make college free? that I could get everyone who loves Warren off my back!”
He stopped. “Okay? Can you do it?” he asked. His manly vitality was evident in every word.
“Yes, sir.” I promised. “I think it was Ronald Reagan who ultimately said, ‘We’re in government and we’re here to help.’ You can trust me.”
After the meeting, I spoke with a senior White House aide. She shared her dream that one day governments would overcome this strange fixation on balance sheets. Her eloquence still haunts me. “I cry every night,” she said. “As journalists, lawyers, and DEI trainers, I speak to precious souls trapped in capitalist slavery, their sacred selves marred by debt.” She insisted that I find a way forward. 400 When I got back to Maryland I felt better!
The White House has made it clear that I will have free rein as long as I continue to harass charter schools and keep teachers unions happy. And I made the most of it. Our senior staff member said we don't have the votes to get it through Congress thanks to MAGA Republicans. And our lawyers said there was no legal way for us to move forward. That's when I cracked my knuckles and thought, 'That's why I'm here.' Now it's time to use the old central office tricks.
We had to get around obstacles like Congress, legislation, and budgets. Over the next few weeks, a three-phase plan took shape.
Step 1: Our team discovered several sentences in the 20-year-old HEROES Act that were written to stop student loans to military personnel deployed after 9/11. Well, we took that phrase and pretended it applied to the pandemic (which is still, totally, totally raging) and said borrowers wouldn't have to pay off $500 billion in student loans. The MAGA Republicans filed a lawsuit, the MAGA Supreme Court had to stop us, and the game was on.
Step 2: After driving the idea that we could give away free money, we started down two parallel paths. We began to “forgive” borrowers piecemeal. Billions of dollars here and there didn't seem very newsworthy compared to our HEROES scheme, but it allowed the President to keep sending emails to borrowers saying he was giving them free money. (That's why he became president. very Happy.) Meanwhile, we rewrote income-driven repayment to quietly convert our student loans to new qualifications. This ultimately allows trillions of dollars to be donated without worrying about Congress or the budget.
Step 3: Congress mandated that the Federal Financial Aid Form (better known as FAFSA) be simplified. If this went too smoothly, there was a risk that faith in the outdated system would be strengthened. So we just shuffled out for as long as we could, making sure nothing happened when we needed to move. Meanwhile, we kept changing the rules for loan servicers and blaming them when something went wrong. After all, only MAGA types still thought people had to pay for college and could or should repay their loans.