Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said this week that President Joe Biden's plans for student-loan forgiveness are "excessive," and not something that he agrees with, according to The Hill.
"I just thought that it was excessive. I just respectfully disagree on that," Manchin told reporters on Tuesday.
"I think there's other ways. When people were calling me from back in West Virginia, I would give them all the options they had that would reduce their loan by going to work in the federal government," he continued.
When asked if Biden's plan to forgive as much as $10,000 in federal student loans, up to $20,000 for those who received Pell Grants, among those who make less than $125,000 per year, Manchin said it was too much.
"I just thought there was a better way to do it," he said. "You have to earn it. You have to earn it."
The senator's comments come shortly after several other moderate Democrats came out against the policy.
Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, said the decision was "out of touch with what the majority of the American people want from the White House, which is leadership to address the most immediate challenges the country is facing."
Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, said, "While there's no doubt that a college education should be about opening opportunities, waiving debt for those already on a trajectory to financial security sends the wrong message to the millions of Ohioans without a degree working just as hard to make ends meet."
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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