The Hill’s 12:30 Report: What we know about the student loan cancellation

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–> A midday take on what’s happening in politics and how to have a sense of humor about it.* 

*Ha. Haha. Hahah. Sniff. Haha. Sniff. Ha–breaks down crying hysterically.

BREAKING THIS MORNING 

Hey, let me cover $10,000 for you:

President Biden announced on Wednesday that his administration is canceling a chunk of student loan debt — as well as extending the payment pause for existing loans.

Biden tweeted the announcement

Specifically, what will be forgiven?: At least $10,000 for borrowers who make less than $125,000 a year. 

Plus: Biden is also forgiving $20,000 of debt for those that received a Pell grant   

Details of the payment pause: Payments can be paused until the end of the year. 

Keep in mind about the White House’s timing: The student loan pause would have expired on Aug. 31 unless Biden intervened. Biden just returned to the White House this morning from his vacation in Rehoboth Beach, Del.

JUST ANNOUNCED — BIDEN WILL DELIVER REMARKS AT 2:15 P.M. EDT: 
From the Roosevelt Room. Livestream

‘BIDEN STUDENT LOAN PLANS CAUGHT IN INFLATION DEBATE CROSSHAIRS’: 
Via The Hill’s Aris Folley 

‘MORE THAN $10B IN STUDENT LOANS FOR PUBLIC WORKERS CANCELED AHEAD OF BROADER BIDEN ANNOUNCEMENT’: 
“The Department of Education has announced that it has provided more than $10 billion in student debt relief for public workers 10 months into a new program. The relief covers more than 175,000 people…” What we know about the new program 

PHOTO OF BIDEN LEAVING THE BEACH AND RETURNING TO WASHINGTON, D.C.: 
From Reuters’ Nandita Bose 

It’s Wednesday. I’m Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what’s coming up. Did someone forward this newsletter to you? Sign up here.

🗳 On the campaign trail 

Two House committee chairs entered the ring.:

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) won his primary over House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) on Tuesday after redistricting forced the two to run against each other. 

Keep in mind: Both Nadler and Maloney have served in Congress since the early 1990s. This will end Maloney’s House career.  

Was Nadler’s win a surprise?: Not really. He had strong polling and endorsements from The New York Times and Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.). 

How this race recently became contentious 

Ron DeSantis’s battle opponent has been determined: 

Rep. Charlie Crist (D-Fla.) will face off against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) in the fall after winning his primary on Tuesday night. 

Tidbit: Crist served as Florida’s *Republican* governor until 2011. 

DeSantis got an indirect shoutout in Crist’s victory speech: “Our fundamental freedoms are literally on the ballot, my friends. A woman’s right to choose: on the ballot. Democracy: on the ballot. Your rights as minorities are on this ballot … Make no mistake about it, because this guy wants to be president of the United States of America and everybody knows it. However, when we defeat him on Nov. 8, that show is over.” 

FIVE TAKEAWAYS FROM TUESDAY’S PRIMARIES: 
1. “Democrats make safe choice to take on DeSantis.” 

2. “The Democratic establishment held its own.” 

3. “Special elections in New York give Democrats new hope.” 

4. “Maloney loss ushers end of political era in Manhattan.” 

5. “Particularly contentious primary season gives way to general election.” 

Context and details for each, from The Hill’s Max Greenwood 

‘DEMOCRAT RYAN WINS BELLWETHER SPECIAL ELECTION FOR NY HOUSE SEAT’: 
This special election has been watched closely because it’s a swing district and a predictor for midterm election outcomes. More on that race 

TIDBIT — THERE’S A SURGE IN WOMEN REGISTERING TO VOTE: 
“Several states where reproduction rights are at risk are seeing a surge in women registering to vote following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade case, abolishing the constitutional right to abortion.” What we know

🍊 In Mar-a-Lago 

700 … pages … of … classified … documents: 

Via The Hill’s Rebecca Beitsch, “Former President Trump’s resistance to turning over what now appears to be a much larger tranche of documents than previously known could strengthen a potential case from the Justice Department against him and renews questions over whether the delay harmed national security.”  

New estimates of what Trump took: “A letter released by the National Archives on Tuesday indicates that an initial batch of 15 boxes of documents taken from Mar-a-Lago in January included 100 classified documents totaling 700 pages.”  

Did the Trump team know the FBI wanted the docs?: “The letter from the National Archives indicates that Trump’s legal team was aware as early as April that the FBI was eager to obtain the documents so that they could do a damage assessment to determine whether there was any fallout related to their mishandling.” What we know 

Read the National Archives’ letter

🦠 Latest with COVID 

➤ THE COVID-19 NUMBERS 

Cases to date: 93.5 million 

Death toll: 1,035,758 

Current hospitalizations: 31,429 

Shots administered: 607 million 

Fully vaccinated: 67.4 percent of Americans 

CDC data here.

🐥Notable tweets 

This will never *not* make me squirm: 

WUSA9’s Reese Waters tweeted a video of a rat walking down the escalator of a D.C. metro stop. Watch the video from @saracplana 

CBS News’s Kathryn Watson astutely pointed out: “At least the rats around here have some manners. Not standing on the left side of the escalator.”  

⏱On tap 

The House and Senate are out. President Biden is in Washington, D.C. Vice President Harris has no public events scheduled.

• 10 a.m.: Biden left Rehoboth Beach, Del. 
• 10:55 a.m.: Biden arrived at the White House. 

 All times Eastern. 

📺What to watch 

• 2:15 p.m.: Biden delivers remarks from the Roosevelt Room.
• 3 p.m.: White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre holds a press briefing. Livestream

🧇 🍑 In lighter news 

Today is National Waffle Day and National Peach Pie Day! 

I’ve given too much thought to this family’s family tree:

The Washington Post’s Cathy Free writes, “These identical twins married identical twins. Now they have sons.”  

If you’re wondering how planned it was: “[W[hen the two sets of siblings met in 2017 at — where else? — the annual Twins Days Festival in Twinsburg, Ohio, they all decided this could be their perfect match. The Deanes and the Salyerses spent a year dating, and when all four were sure they had found their match, they returned to the festival and got married right there, in matching outfits.”  

And now: “And if that weren’t enough, the two couples — who now live in a house they share in Bedford County, Va. — went back to the twins festival earlier this month, this time with their sons, born about five months apart.” 

Photos and the full story 

And because you made it this far, here’s a dog enjoying independent play.