President Biden on Wednesday announced the cancellation of $1.2 billion in student debt for more than 150,000 borrowers, saying the relief will allow them to buy homes, start families and otherwise benefit the economy.

Folks, I’m glad I was able to forgive these loans because when we…

realize and

Freeing Americans from student debt frees them to pursue their dreams, he told dozens of supporters at the Culver City Julian Dixon Library.

Biden tried to implement a much broader plan but was blocked by the Supreme Court. That’s why he has taken executive action to cancel student debt totaling $138 billion for nearly 3.9 million people, the White House said.

People who qualify for the new relief and who originally borrowed up to $12,000 and have been making monthly loan payments for at least 10 years will receive an email from the president this week. They participated in a program known as SAVE, which determines monthly debt payments based on income and family size and also shortens loan terms for many borrowers.

It’s all about giving people a chance, a chance to fight to make it, Biden said.

While

Biden’s quick appearance,

What

during an official event at the White House,

It

comes as Democrats grow increasingly concerned about disillusionment among young voters, who are a key part of the coalition that must motivate Biden to participate in the fall general election.

Republicans criticized the move as a cynical, taxpayer-funded ploy to boost Biden’s re-election chances.

More than 60 percent of Americans don’t have a college degree, but Joe Biden wants hardworking taxpayers to foot the higher education bills for the elite. Meanwhile, families are struggling with lower real wages, higher prices and more credit card debt than four years ago, Ronna McDaniel, chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, said in a statement. In Biden’s desperate attempt to use your money to buy votes, American families are being left behind.”

Biden was joined at the event by Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, Sen. Alex Padilla and other California elected officials.

It was the president’s final event in a two-day swing

Through

Los Angeles. Earlier today, Biden stopped at CJ’s Cafe in Baldwin Hills, ordered a breakfast burrito and posed for photos with customers.

He led a major fundraiser Tuesday night at media mogul Haim Saban’s sprawling estate in Beverly Park. Biden told supporters, including actor Jane Fonda

offered the election

voters

would have

a crystal clear choice in the general election, when he will likely face a rematch with former President Trump.

Time and time again, Republicans have shown themselves to be a party of chaos and division. They shout about problems but offer nothing, Biden told a few hundred people who paid as much as $250,000 to attend. They have no platform.

Are they here to solve problems or are they just using them as a weapon for political attacks? Speaking about the Republican Party, Biden added that in a second term he would work to restore abortion and voting rights, strengthen the Affordable Care Act and Social Security, increase access to affordable housing and ensure ensure that companies pay their fair share of taxes. I am here to serve the people.

Saban and co-host Casey Wasserman, chairman of LA28, the committee that organizes the Los Angeles Olympics, both tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday and were unable to attend the event.

Biden headed to the Bay Area on Wednesday afternoon and will hold additional fundraisers there before leaving the state on Thursday. This is likely Biden’s last trip to California before Super Tuesday on March 5, when California and more than a dozen other states hold primaries.