Global Courant
The Supreme Court on Friday struck down the Biden administration’s program to cancel the debts of more than 43 million U.S. borrowers.
In a 6-3 decisionwritten by Chief Justice John Roberts, the court ruled that the Department of Education exceeded its jurisdiction when it proceeded to clear more than $400 billion in federal student loan debt.
The program, which invoked emergency powers due to the economic hardship caused by the pandemic, would have forgiven $10,000 in student debt for all borrowers earning less than $125,000 and up to $20,000 for borrowers who also received Pell grants.
Justice Elena Kagan, joined in her dissenting opinion by Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson, said the court overstepped its authority.
“From the first to the last page, today’s opinion deviates from the demands of judicial restraint,” Kagan said in her dissenting opinion, which she read from the bench. “At the behest of a party that has suffered no harm, the majority decides a disputed matter of public policy belonging to the politically responsible departments and the people they represent.”
The court’s decision is a blow to President Joe Biden, who made tackling student loan debt a key campaign pledge. The loan forgiveness program was rolled out just before the 2022 midterm elections, with Biden highlighting how the aid would have a life-changing impact on middle-class Americans.
The White House earlier this week continued to refuse to say what a “Plan B” would look like if the court rejects the plan.
It has yet to respond to Friday’s Supreme Court ruling.
Student loan payments will resume in October after a three-year hiatus during the pandemic. Interest on federal student loans begins in September.
Top Democrats criticized the court’s decision and quickly called on Biden to explore more options to provide borrower relief, while Republicans praised the ruling.
“This disappointing and brutal ruling demonstrates the callousness of the Republican-controlled Maga Supreme Court,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., said in a statement.
“The fight won’t end here,” Schumer continued. “The Biden administration has remaining legal routes to provide a broad student debt forgiveness. With the pause on student loan payments coming to an end in weeks, I call on the government to do all it can to help millions of workers and to help.” Americans struggling with student debt.”
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said the decision “builds on” Republican-led legislation to end the student loan payment pause.
“The president must follow the law,” McCarthy tweeted.
In a separate opinion, the Supreme Court unanimously said on Friday that two individual borrowers also challenging the program had no standing and dismissed the case.
This is an evolving story. Check back later for updates.
