President Biden’s student debt forgiveness plan is facing a number of legal battles that make its future precarious. Next month the Supreme Court is set to hear two of the challenges that the program is facing.
Biden v. Nebraska
The first case blocking student loan forgiveness to be reviewed by the Supreme Court is Biden v. Nebraska from the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals. This case is led by six Republican states that argue that the program would cause economic problems to their states. As they argue, many state entities that collaborate with loan providers would lose out on profits, and would also lead to the state losing out on tax revenue.
The 8th Circuit issued a temporary injunction in November that stopped the program until the legality of debt relief was examined. In December, the Supreme Court further halted the program by putting it on hold until they could hear the case.
Department of Education v. Brown
The second case, Department of Education v. Brown, came from the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.
The case was brought forth by two individuals backed by the Jobs Creators Network Foundation, and a Texas district judge ruled that the program would be illegal as Biden did not have the power necessary to set up student loan forgiveness.
The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the district ruling in November, which is why the Supreme Court is now set to hear this case.
Depending on the Supreme Court’s ruling the Biden administration will either be able to immediately start forgiving student loan debt, or they might have to find a different way to implement student loan forgiveness.
