Topline
The White House got a scathing post in the week’s most popular tweet, slamming congressional Republicans for criticizing President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness program, It was a rare viral victory for a major institutional account on the platform, even though they had already experienced business pandemic aid loan forgiveness.
Joe Biden in Laughing while speaking at the 2014 UAW National Community Action Plan Conference… [+] Washington, February 5, 2014. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
Key Facts
Tweets targeting Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) this week were on Twitter, according to data collected by social media tracking firm NewsWhip Most Popular Tweets.
As of Saturday morning, the tweet has attracted nearly 1.1 million interactions, That includes over 275,000 retweets and nearly 800,000 likes.
White House post references a video in which Greene says student loan The forgiveness was unfair and added a message that read: “Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene forgives $183,504 in PPP loans.”
The White House Twitter account then noted how much the other five Republican congressmen had forgiven on Paycheck Protection Program loans: Rep. Fern Buchanan (Fla. State) , Markwayne Mullin (Okla.), Kevin Hern (Okla.), Mike Kelly (Penn.) and Matt Gaetz (Fla.).
$183,504 in relief for Greene Loans are the lowest Buchanan leads with $2.3 million in debt cancellations, according to the White House.
Something we don’t know
The White House doesn’t In response to request for comment Forbes Who’s idea about making a tweet thread, but The Washington Post reports that White House officials have been pushing for bolder social media. The paper noted that one of the most recent hires in the Office of Digital Strategy is Megan Coyne, who is known for tweeting while running the New Jersey government Twitter account.
Key Background
Biden announced Wednesday his much-anticipated student loan forgiveness plan, which will be for those earning less than $125,000 a year of $10,000 in loan forgiveness for borrowers and $20,000 in loan forgiveness for those within the income threshold to attend college on Pell Grants. Republican lawmakers were quick to condemn the plan, with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Kentucky) calling it “a slap in the face to every family who sacrificed their lives to attend college” in a statement.
Notes
According to the White House, applications for loan forgiveness will open in early October, and borrowers’ balances will be reduced by approximately one month after the application is submitted moon. Required federal student loan repayments will resume in January.
Contra
The PPP loan program was created early in the Covid-19 pandemic to provide small businesses with , have funds to keep employees on the job. PPP loans are primarily granted to be forgiven, while federal student loans are not.
Further reading
White House slams Republicans who criticize students for debt relief but get PPP loans (Forbes)
Progressives laud Biden’s student debt cancellation as GOP and moderating voice concerns (Forbes)
Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan: Here’s what benefits the most and Least People (Forbes)
Biden White House becomes active on Twitter (Washington Post)
