The Supreme Court on Thursday left President Joe Biden‘s student debt relief program on hold and set oral arguments to determine whether the program can continue for sometime in February, according to a brief order.
The court’s decision means the rollout of debt cancellation will remain blocked, at least until then. The Biden administration had petitioned the high court to allow the program to proceed while several legal challenges were considered by lower courts. The program aims to include debt cancellation of up to $20,000 in relief for Pell Grant recipients, while millions of borrowers qualify for $10,000 in relief.
Justice Department Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar filed an emergency application on Nov. 18 on behalf of the Biden administration, asking the justices to lift an injunction imposed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit. In a separate case, a federal judge in Texas halted the plan. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit on Wednesday declined to lift the hold, meaning the Biden administration could soon appeal that case to the justices as well.
SUPREME COURT STUDENT LOAN SHOWDOWN IGNITES, WITH STATES URGING STOP TO BIDEN PLAN
In a brief, the DOJ argues the 8th Circuit decision “leaves millions of economically vulnerable borrowers in limbo, uncertain about the size of their debt and unable to make financial decisions with an accurate understanding of their future repayment obligations.”
The advent of a second federal appeals court denying the administration’s bid to lift a ruling blocking the student debt relief policy is a major blow to the administration, which has argued the HEROES Act of 2003 provides broad authority for the Education Department to forgive millions of borrowers’ student debt.
But while the Biden administration faces an uphill legal battle, lawyers and experts contend the plaintiffs who have succeeded at the appeals court level are still hard-pressed to prove they have legal standing to bring the challenges to Biden’s plan.
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“The Biden administration’s argument, in essence, is that the alleged harm is too speculative, or that the plaintiffs had no legal basis to expect to benefit from the continuation of the student loan program,” Gerard Filitti, senior counsel at the Lawfare Project, told the Washington Examiner.
Filitti contends the justices could more narrowly seek to determine “who, if anyone, has a right to sue to block Biden’s action.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.
