WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has long believed diplomacy is about personal relationships — and he'll spend Friday in Berlin with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz as his time in office is on the cusp of ending.
There is also a planned meeting with other leaders in the “European Quad,” a group that in addition to Biden and Scholz includes French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre described Biden as having a “close relationship” with Scholz, who early this year helped broker a multi-country prisoner swap that brought back to the United States the journalist Evan Gershkovich and former Marine Paul Whelan. The German leader told Biden before the deal in words to the effect, “For you, I will do this."
“We have worked together closely to strengthen our economies for both our people and provide critical support for Ukraine as it continues to defend itself against Russian aggression,” Jean-Pierre said at Wednesday’s White House briefing. “The president really wanted to make sure to go to Germany to thank Chancellor Scholz directly.”
But Biden's whirlwind trip starting on Thursday is hardly just a social visit.
The United States and Germany have been the largest two sources of aid to Ukraine as it fights to repel a Russian invasion. And with less than three weeks before the U.S. presidential election, Biden also feels obligated to ready allies for the possible return to the White House of Republican Donald Trump, who has antagonized U.S. friends while displaying an appreciation for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The administration said Biden has no plans while in Europe to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, but the two spoke on Wednesday about additional military aid, with the White House announcing $425 million in assistance, bringing the total support to more than $64 billion over two and a half years.
In addition to Ukraine, Biden and Scholz plan to discuss European Union relations, democratic values, trade and technology issues, global supply chains, tensions in the Middle East and security issues in the Indo-Pacific region. While in Germany, Biden will also meet with its president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
Earlier this month, the U.S. president had delayed a trip planned to Germany and Angola in order to oversee relief efforts ahead of Hurricane Milton making landfall in Florida. He now plans to go to Angola in December.
His trip to Germany comes as Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, has entered an aggressive sprint to persuade and turn out voters in an election that could ultimately determine the future of Biden's legacy of having strengthened NATO and built up relations in Asia to counter China's influence.
Trump has questioned America's commitment to defending NATO allies who are attacked, something that Biden called “un-American” in February.
“The whole world heard it and the worst thing is he means it,” the president said.
Trump has talked about applying tariffs on imports from U.S. allies in Europe and Asia, which could potentially strain relations with countries that could counter Russia, China and other rivals.
“Our allies have taken advantage of us more so than our enemies,” Trump said Tuesday at the Economic Club of Chicago.
Trump declined to say whether he’s continued to speak with Putin since losing the 2020 election but added that it would not be a negative if he and the Russian leader had been in touch. Bob Woodward in his new book “War” reported that Trump and Putin have spoken seven times.
“But I will tell you that if I did, it’s a smart thing,” Trump said. “If I’m friendly with people, if I can have a relationship with people, that’s a good thing and not a bad thing in terms of a country.”
President Joe Biden speaks at a reception marking Italian-American Heritage Month, in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
WASHINGTON (AP) — A student loan cancellation program for public workers has granted relief to more than 1 million Americans — up from just 7,000 who were approved before it was updated by the Biden administration two years ago.
President Joe Biden announced the milestone on Thursday, saying his administration restored a promise to America’s teachers, firefighters, nurses and other public servants. He celebrated it even as his broader student loan plans remain halted by courts following legal challenges by Republican-led states.
“For too long, the government failed to live up to its commitments,” Biden said in a statement. “We vowed to fix that, and because of actions from our administration, now over 1 million public service workers have gotten the relief they are entitled to under the law.”
The Public Service Loan Forgiveness program was created in 2007, promising college graduates that the remainder of their federal student loans would be zeroed out after 10 years working in government or nonprofit jobs. But starting in 2017, the vast majority of applicants were rejected because of complicated and little-known eligibility rules.
A 2018 report from the Government Accountability Office found that 99% of applicants were denied, often because they weren’t in the right loan repayment plan or because their payments had temporarily been paused through deferment or forbearance — periods that weren’t counted toward the 10 years of public work.
The GAO faulted the Education Department for failing to make the rules clear.
The program was the subject of legal and political battles, with Democrats in Congress calling on the Trump administration to loosen the rules and uphold the spirit of the program. Betsy DeVos, the education secretary at the time, countered that she was faithfully following the rules passed by Congress.
Declaring that the program was “broken,” the Biden administration in 2021 offered a temporary waiver allowing borrowers to get credit for past periods of deferment or forbearance, among other changes. A year later, the Education Department updated the rules to expand eligibility more permanently.
Since then, waves of borrowers have been approved for cancellation as they reach the 10-year finish line. On Thursday, 60,000 more hit the mark, pushing the total past 1 million. When Biden took office, just 7,000 borrowers had been granted relief over the previous four years.
In all, the program has erased $74 billion in loans for public workers.
“I want to send a message to college students across America that pursuing a career in public service is not only a noble calling but a reliable pathway to becoming debt-free within a decade,” Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a statement.
After facing legal challenges to Biden's own student loan plans, his administration has increasingly shifted attention to the record sums of loan cancellation granted through existing programs.
In total, the administration says it has now canceled $175 billion for about 5 million borrowers. Public Service Loan Forgiveness accounts for the largest share of that relief, while others have had their loans canceled through income-driven payment plans and through a 1994 rule offering relief to students who were cheated by their schools.
Biden campaigned on a promise of widespread student loan cancellation, but last year the Supreme Court blocked his proposal to cancel up to $20,000 for 40 million Americans. Biden ordered his Education Department to try again using a different legal justification, but a judge in Missouri temporarily halted the plan after several Republican states challenged it.
The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
FILE - President Joe Biden speaks about student loan debt, April 8, 2024, in Madison, Wis. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
