President-elect Joe Biden on Wednesday questioned whether he will have the authority to cancel student loan debt through executive action and said he is "unlikely" to do so,

remarks that prompted forceful backlash from progressives who argue he will soon have the power--and a moral obligation--to provide at least some relief to millions of debt-saddled

Americans. Reiterating his promise to reenter the Paris climate agreement and protect Dreamers with executive action, Biden said he is skeptical that he could unilaterally cancel $50,000 in

student loan debt for many borrowers, a proposal pushed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), and others. A poll released last month found that

president may have the executive power to forgive up to $50,000 in student debt," Biden said in an interview with the _Washington Post_, correctly anticipating progressive outrage over

his stance. "Well, I think that's pretty questionable. I'm unsure of that. I'd be unlikely to do that." Biden has proposed canceling $10,000 in federal student debt

per borrower through legislation, which would require the approval of Congress. If Democrats fail to win both U.S. Senate runoffs in Georgia next month, Biden's hesitancy to use his

executive authority could stand in the way of meaningful relief for Americans who collectively hold more than $1.7 trillion in student loan debt. "It simply isn't correct to say

the legal authority to cancel student debt via executive action is 'questionable,'" said Alexis Goldstein, senior policy analyst at Americans for Financial Reform. "The

authority is clear, documented, and even the Trump administration used executive authority to cancel student loan interest payments, TWICE: in March (pre-CARES), then August." "The

Trump administration used executive action a third time, to once more cancel student loan interest payments... on December 4th, when the payment pause was extended to the end of January

2021," Goldstein noted. Rahna Epting, executive director of advocacy group MoveOn, called Biden's position "unacceptable" and said progressives need to keep up the

pressure on the incoming administration. MoveOn is part of a diverse coalition of more than 230 organizations calling on the president-elect to "use executive authority to cancel

federal student debt on day one" of his administration. > \u201cUnacceptable. @JoeBiden can change the course of history for > millions of Americans and energize the economy with 

the stroke of > his pen. Keep pushing. https://t.co/yJRm9ae6GI\u201d > — Rahna Epting (@Rahna Epting) 1608821420 Along with their September letter arguing that the president can order

the Secretary of Education to cancel $50,000 in student loan debt without congressional approval, Warren and Schumer attached a seven-page analysis (pdf) from legal experts affirming that

the president has the authority to take such a step. "We have consulted the statutory and regulatory framework governing federal student loan programs administered by the Department of

Education, as well as the framework and controlling interpretations of the budgetary structure of these programs," wrote Eileen Connor, Deanne Loonin, and Toby Merrill of the Project on

Predatory Student Lending. "We conclude that such broad or categorical debt cancellation would be a lawful and permissible exercise of the Secretary's authority under existing

law." Biden's Wednesday interview with the _Post_ was not the first time the president-elect has been dismissive of progressive demands that he use his executive authority to right

injustices. During a meeting with civil rights leaders earlier this month, Biden claimed that the "executive authority that my progressive friends talk about is way beyond the

bounds." "Where I have executive authority, I will use it to undo every single damn thing this guy has done by executive authority," said the president-elect, "but

I'm not going to exercise executive authority where it's a question." _The Intercept_'s Ryan Grim, who obtained a recording of Biden's meeting with civil rights

leaders, said Thursday that what Biden lacks is not the authority to cancel student debt via executive order, but the political will. "Biden lying to cover for his refusal to enact

student debt cancellation is some pitiful cowardice," Grim tweeted. The youth-led Sunrise Movement added Thursday that "Biden has the power to cancel student loan debt. To not use

it is immoral." > \u201cYoung people are living paycheck to paycheck. More of us are > contemplating suicide than ever before. And the weight of debt hangs > on so many of our 

necks b/c we did what society told us to > do\u2014go to school. \n\n@JoeBiden has the power to > #CancelStudentDebt. To not use it is immoral.\u201d > — Sunrise Movement 

\ud83c\udf05 (@Sunrise Movement \ud83c\udf05) > 1608819490 Demands that the Biden administration move quickly to provide student debt relief were made more pressing by Congress'

failure to extend a suspension of federal student loan payments in the new coronavirus relief legislation. The moratorium is set to expire at the end of January, soon after Biden takes

office. "This is a major failing," Ashley Harrington, federal advocacy director at the Center for Responsible Lending, told the _Washington Post_. "It is now more urgent than

ever that the Biden-Harris administration keep its promise to provide substantial, across-the-board debt cancellation and take the necessary steps to prevent further financial devastation

for vulnerable borrowers and communities."