EXCLUSIVEBiden's education chief faces damning accusations over Joe's massive student loan ploy
- Education Secretary Miguel Cardona under fire over 'overtly political' email
- Hatch Act rules prohibit civil servants from some types of political activity
- READ MORE: Biden's student loan forgiveness suffers huge blow from judges
Education Secretary Miguel Cardona is under fire over an email to student loan borrowers in which he allegedly tried to win votes with cushy repayment deals as he slammed his Republican foes.
The Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust, a conservative nonprofit, has referred the email to investigators alleging that Cardona improperly used his civil servant role to sway the 2024 election results.
The group's director Kendra Arnold told DailyMail.com that Cardona, a former Connecticut schoolteacher, had violated the Hatch Act by making an 'overtly political pitch to student loan borrowers in an election year.'
The complaint comes as Democrats are in disarray over whether aging President Joe Biden should lead them into the 2024 election, or if his weaknesses will cost them the White House and key congressional seats.
'This case goes far beyond a standard Hatch Act violation of making a political remark while appearing in an official capacity,' Arnold said.
Education Secretary Miguel Cardona faces a Hatch Act probe for his 'overtly political' email
The Biden administration is under pressure from student loan borrowers to reduce their education debts
'What looks to have happened here is an extremely partisan message was widely distributed using data the federal government had compiled on citizens who have student loans — a universe that could be 43 million people.'
Kendra Arnold slams the education chief's 'extremely partisan' email
Arnold referred the case to the US Office of Special Counsel (OSC), an independent federal agency that oversees the 1939 Hatch Act, which bars civil servants in the executive branch from engaging in some forms of political activity.
The Department of Education and the OSC did not answer DailyMail.com's emails.
Cardona's suspect email was sent out this month and covered threats to the department's Saving on Valuable Education (SAVE) scheme, which was created in October and currently has 8 million enrollees seeking lower monthly repayments.
Alaska, South Carolina and Texas filed a lawsuit this month that threaten the administration's student debt relief programs by asking the Supreme Court to rule on them. GOP lawmakers say they dole out taxpayer money without congressional approval.
They have accused the administration of transferring the burden of the student loan debt to other taxpayers who did not choose to take out massive loans or receive expensive college degrees.
The Biden administration previously estimated the SAVE plan would cost $156 billion over a decade. The Congressional Budget Office said the figure is closer to $230 billion.
Cardona's email takes aim at 'Republican elected officials who are siding with special interests and trying' to nix the low-cost loans, which he says offer low-income borrowers $0 monthly payments and $1,000-per-year savings to others.
'We disagree with the Republican elected officials' efforts here to side with special interests and block borrowers from getting breathing room on their student loans,' Cardona wrote in the message.
'Our administration will not stop fighting to make sure Americans have affordable access to the life-changing opportunities a higher education can provide.'
Arnold's group accuses Cardona of injecting politics into a federal government email to student loan borrowers.
Her complaint notes that the 'entirely political' email was 'unsolicited' and came from an official government email address, on official department letterhead and signed by Cardona using his official title.
President Joe Biden has been accused of failing to deliver on campaign promises of cutting student debt
Student demonstrators outside the Supreme Court on June 30, 2023. The Supreme Court last year blocked President Biden's original student loan debt relief plan
'This type of political advocacy from the government targeting citizens who interact with an agency is exactly the type of politicization the Hatch Act is designed to prevent,' says the letter.
The complaint comes as Biden pushes ahead with his debt forgiveness, cancelling an extra $1.2 billion in debt for public servants on Thursday – his latest bid to come good on campaign pledges during a struggling reelection campaign.
The assistance will affect 35,000 nurses, firefighters, teachers, and other public service workers enrolled in the government's loan forgiveness program.
Student-debt relief was one of the key promises of Biden's 2020 presidential campaign and is important with groups that are critical to his electoral coalition, including young and black voters.
The president's $400 billion plan for broad student debt relief was struck down by the Supreme Court and despite his efforts to act unilaterally, he has been clammed for failing to come good on campaign pledges.
The Education Department has now forgiven $168.5 billion in student debt for 4.76 million borrowers, mostly through administrative changes to existing programs.
The New Deal-era Hatch Act was written to limit partisan activity by federal employees to ensure the government functions fairly and effectively.
It prohibits sending or forwarding partisan political emails while on duty or in a federal workplace, engaging in political activity while wearing an official uniform or while using a government vehicle, among other rules.
It applies to all civilian employees in the executive branch of the federal government, except the president and the vice president.
Career government officials found to have violated the Hatch Act can be fired, suspended or demoted, and fined up to $1,000, though few penalties are ever levied against federal employees.
Violations were much more common under President Donald Trump. The OSC sent an 'unprecedented' 15 warning letters to senior Trump administration officials about running afoul of the Hatch Act, and it even recommended the firing of top adviser Kellyanne Conway.
