Biden administration criticized for obstructing congressional subpoenas

Lawfully issued congressional subpoenas are not subject to interference from the White House or its appointed leaders of departments, North Carolina Congresswoman Virginia Foxx says.

The Republican bidding for an 11th term in the Beltway chastised Education Secretary Miguel Cardona for “repeatedly” trying to interfere with the work of the committee she leads in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The Committee on Education & the Workforce has subpoenaed five student loan servicers, and Cardona’s department says it has legal authority to review and approve materials before they are sent to the committee, a release says.

Foxx writes in part to Cardona, “The department has repeatedly sought to interfere with the committee’s efforts to obtain documents and communications in a timely manner from the loan servicers. Not only has the department interfered with the committee’s ability to conduct oversight, but it has also failed to answer the committee’s prior inquiry of August 14, 2024, seeking information about the timing of the department’s regulation promoting additional student debt relief.”

According to the letter, Lisa Brown as legal counsel for the Education Department on Sept. 5 through a letter said the loan servicers’ response “must receive prior approval” from the contracting officer of the department. She cited a contract term. Foxx said contract terms do not “override Article I of the U.S. Constitution.”

Some documents have been received by the committee. Three conference calls have taken place between staff of the committee and staff of the Education Department.

On July 31, Foxx questioned the Biden administration emailing student loan borrowers to advise of debt relief. She wrote in a letter then, “To my knowledge, no administration – Democrat or Republican – has ever taken such an aberrant approach to the administration of federal student aid as auto-enrolling the public in a government program that does not yet exist.”

On Aug. 14, Cardona was asked by Foxx, “Will the department guarantee that any rule concerning student loan repayment or debt relief published in the Federal Register between now and the expiration of the president’s current term of office will not take effect before the statutory 30-day period has elapsed?”

On Aug. 29, the subpoenas went out to the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority, Nelnet Servicing, LLC, Maximus dba Aidvantage, Edfinancial Services and Central Research, Inc..

Foxx closed the letter writing, “This letter serves as a final warning – the department must release the loan servicers’ documents to the committee” by noon on Tuesday.