NYT spotlights WH dunk on student loan criticism for taking PPP, says they’re ‘not perfectly equivalent’

The New York Times bragged that the White House is going on the offensive against GOP critics of President Biden’s huge student loan.

« White House Calls on Congress Critics to Forgive Student Loans: Is That You? » the Times teased its report on Friday via tweet.

The Times referenced a flurry of tweets from the official White House account that targeted Republican lawmakers who accepted financial assistance through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to keep businesses afloat as government-mandated closures were being implemented to combat the coronavirus pandemic.

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Among the critics the White House has targeted are Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who took $183,504 in PPP loans, Rep. Markwayne Mullin, who took $1.4 million, and Rep. Matt Gaetz, who collected $482,321.

« It was a simple formula, and one that had been used all over social media at the time, but given the source, the tone was unusually pointed. The approach had its fans on Twitter: ‘It’ is the greatest White House troll of all time! ‘ one wrote, » the Times reported.

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White House spokeswoman Alexandra LaManna doubled down on her tweets, telling The Times, « We’ve never been shy about calling out hypocrisy, and we’re not going to stop now, » saying critics were calling the « bailout » student loan program « had no problem with loan bailouts that benefited their own businesses. »

WASHINGTON, DC – AUGUST 24: US President Joe Biden, flanked by Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, speaks on student loan debt in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on August 24, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
(Alex Wong/Getty Images)

However, as Washington Free Beacon reporter Chuck Ross pointed out, buried in the seventh paragraph of the article is an acknowledgment by The Times that the comparison of student loan and PPP loan « is not perfectly equivalent. « .

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“PPP loans were effectively designed to be forgiven. The federal government offered them without the traditional standard of business loan verification in an effort to distribute cash quickly to struggling businesses during the early years of the pandemic. Nearly all businesses with 500 or fewer workers were eligible for the low-interest loans, which were canceled as long as the money was used for authorized costs,” writes the Times.

The New York Times building on 8th Avenue in New York City.
(DON EMMERT/AFP via Getty Images)

Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., who was among lawmakers the White House called out for taking out nearly $1 million in PPP loans, fired back.

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« A Democratic Governor has declared my family’s business non-essential and closed our doors. This money has saved over 160 essential jobs in Western Pennsylvania during the pandemic, » Kelly tweeted on Friday.

He added: « PPP loans are designed to be forgiven. Student loans are not. Big difference! »

President Biden announced Wednesday that he would forgive $10,000 in federal student loan debt for certain borrowers earning less than $125,000 a year, and up to $20,000 for Pell Grant recipients, while extending the pause on federal student loan payments until the end of the year.

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The price to pay stands at $500 billion, leaving critics to sound the alarm that the spending spree will fuel inflation and further boost the country. national debt.

Fox News’ Brooke Singman contributed to this report.