Ted Cruz Says Workers Forced to Pay for Degrees in Queer Pet Literature

A clip of Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz criticising President Joe Biden's student-debt forgiveness plan has gone viral on social media.

At the end of August, Biden announced that he and his government are committed to relieving some of the financial burden felt by those who have gone on to education after high school.

The student-loan relief is designed to help those who need it most, namely those of low to middle income, Biden said in a speech.

The administration announced that it will cancel up to $20,000 in student debt for Pell Grant recipients and up to $10,000 for individual borrowers who make less than $125,000 per year, or $250,000 per year for married couples.

However, following this announcement, this plan has been criticized by Republicans, with some saying Americans are being punished and forced to pay for those who have taken obscure degrees that have not resulted in lucrative jobs.

Cruz spoke about this plan on his Verdict podcast on Sunday, while also clarifying his previous comments regarding "slackers" working as baristas.

A clip from this podcast has already gone viral with more than 230,000 views on Twitter.

"Are there people who wasted years studying utterly useless things, who couldn't get a job afterwards and who are now working as a barista and are slackers? Yes," Cruz said while speaking to host Michael J. Knowles.

"Is every barista a slacker? Of course not, they are wonderful and great people, many of whom, by the way, don't have student loans."

Cruz said: "They are getting screwed by the Democrats because they are saying the guy that studied queer pet literature and has $100,000 in debt because oddly enough, to reference another podcast you know Mickey and Pluto going at it, other than getting a job at Disney, there's not a lot of job market for queer pet literature."

After a pause, Knowles then began to laugh and agree with Cruz as they moved the conversation forward.

Newsweek has contacted Ted Cruz and the White House for comment.

Late last month, U.S. Representative Lauren Boebert, a Colorado Republican, made a similar criticism of Biden's plan.

She insisted the money earmarked for the student-loan relief was robbing Americans to fund "Karen's daughter's degree in lesbian dance theory."

While speaking on Fox News' Hannity show, Boebert responded to comments made by Biden that said Make America Great Again (MAGA) supporters are a threat to the country.

"How the heck could Joe Biden call America First conservatives a threat to democracy with a straight face and a dry diaper?" Boebert said.

"He's the one who has allowed millions to invade our southern border. He's the one who is robbing hardworking Americans to pay for Karen's daughter's degree in lesbian dance theory."