Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett on Friday denied an emergency application that sought to block President Joe Biden‘s plan to forgive millions of dollars in student debt, her second such ruling since the plan was announced in August.
Barrett acted alone in refusing to take up the case rather than referring it to the full court.
SUPREME COURT RECEIVES SECOND EMERGENCY FILING TO HALT BIDEN’S STUDENT DEBT FORGIVENESS
Her decision comes just days after the libertarian Pacific Legal Foundation called on the high court to block the president’s debt forgiveness plan, which would allow some borrowers to have as much as $20,000 of their debt forgiven.
Attorneys for PLF represent a pair of Indiana borrowers who claimed their entitlement to “automatic cancellation” under the president’s plan would cause “excess tax liability under state law.”
Caleb Kruckenberg, an attorney for PLF, told the Washington Examiner that the administration has “sought to avoid judicial scrutiny” since the program was announced in August.
“Thus far, they have succeeded. But that does not change the fact that this program is illegal from stem to stern. We’re disappointed by today’s denial but will continue to fight this program in court,” Kruckenberg added.
On Oct. 20, Barrett denied a similar request by a Wisconsin taxpayers organization represented by a conservative legal group. The justice has acted in both cases because she is assigned to handle certain emergency requests from a group of states that includes Indiana and Wisconsin.
Biden’s plan, announced in August, aims to forgive up to $10,000 in loan debt for borrowers making less than $125,000 per year, while those who received Pell Grants would have up to $20,000 of their debt canceled.
But on Oct. 21, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily put the policy on hold after six Republican-led states sued. The court placed Biden’s plan on hold while it considered their request for injunction pending their appeal of their case’s dismissal. That request is still pending.
Barrett’s second dismissal involved borrowers Frank Garrison and Noel Johnson, represented by the libertarian PLF, and claimed they would be irreparably harmed if some student loans were automatically forgiven due to Indiana’s laws on state tax liabilities.
After the pair sued, the Education Department allowed an opt-out option for borrowers. A district court judge dismissed their case on Oct. 21, finding the debt relief plan did not injure the two plaintiffs.
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Meanwhile, the 7th U.S. Court of Appeals declined to block the plan on Oct. 28 while Garrison and Johnson pursued an appeal.
The Biden administration’s plan to forgive a significant portion of federal student loans will cost roughly $400 billion, according to new estimates from the Congressional Budget Office.
