EDITORIAL: Biden thumbs his nose at the Supreme Court

Democrats have worked to tear down support for the U.S. Supreme Court because they abhor constitutionalist jurists who won’t bend to progressive prerogatives. Meanwhile, President Joe Biden expresses his enmity for the justices by simply proceeding in defiance of the high court as he attempts to buy votes.

And who is a threat to our democratic institutions?

On Monday, Mr. Biden announced yet another initiative to saddle American taxpayers with the loan debt that thousands of students willingly incurred. The president has asked the Department of Education to write regulations that create various conditions under which borrowers would be relieved of their obligations.

The Wall Street Journal reported over the weekend that this could include those with “high debt loads and low incomes” or those who “have carried their debt for decades.” Those “who now owe more than their initial loan amount because interest has piled up” may also receive relief.

There is no word yet on how much this might cost, but the administration says it will “benefit” 23 million loan recipients. What about the taxpayers? The president has already forgiven some $145 billion in student loans through various existing programs.

One might think that Mr. Biden would have been deterred by the Supreme Court ruling last year that overturned his effort to arbitrarily cancel $20,000 in student loan debt for borrowers — even well-off graduates making in the low six figures. Instead, the White House marches forward, asking federal education bureaucrats to draw up legally dubious proposals to circumvent the nation’s highest court.

This is political pandering masquerading as public policy — particularly given that the government continues to issue millions in loans each week with no assurances that they’ll ever be repaid. As Albert Einstein is reputed to have said, doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result is the very definition of insanity.

Blanket loan forgiveness is also a slap in the face to college graduates who met their financial obligations or those who lived within their means to cash-flow higher education. It’s a middle finger to those who didn’t go to college but are now expected to subsidize those who did, many of whom are high earners. It sends the wrong message about financial management and personal responsibility.

There may be a case for a narrow forgiveness initiative on hardship grounds, but such programs already exist. Mr. Biden is attempting to unilaterally expand the scope of loan amnesty despite a Supreme Court ruling that such powers reside in Congress. Congressional Republicans or state attorneys general acting on behalf of the beleaguered American taxpayer should mount another legal challenge.