The Supreme Court has once again blocked President Biden’s efforts to provide student debt relief.
On Wednesday, the court refused to revive the administration’s latest plan, which aimed to cut monthly payments and speed up loan forgiveness for millions of borrowers.
This decision is a win for Republican-led states fighting the plan in court.
It follows the Supreme Court’s ruling last June that stopped Biden’s earlier, more sweeping debt cancellation proposal.
After that setback, the White House rolled out the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan last August.
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The administration claimed it was the “most affordable repayment plan ever created.”
SAVE would have lowered monthly payments on undergraduate loans from 10% to 5% of a borrower’s extra income.
The White House said this would save the average borrower about $1,000 a year.
🚨BREAKING: The Supreme Court unanimously upheld our court order BLOCKING @KamalaHarris and @JoeBiden' illegal student loan cancellation scheme.
This is a HUGE victory for the working Americans who won't have to foot the bill for the Biden-Harris Ivy League bailout. pic.twitter.com/iK8G1yORHt
— Attorney General Andrew Bailey (@AGAndrewBailey) August 28, 2024
But in April, seven Republican-led states sued to stop the program.
They argued the Education Department was overstepping its authority with the debt relief plan.
The legal challenges kept coming.
In June, a federal judge in St. Louis temporarily stopped part of SAVE that would have forgiven loans for some borrowers.
Then in August, an appeals court went further, putting the whole debt relief plan on hold while the case moves forward.
These court decisions led the Biden administration to ask the Supreme Court for emergency help.
By turning down this request, the high court has kept the plan frozen for now.
This isn’t Biden’s only legal problem here. Another group of Republican states has a separate case in a different appeals court.
The Supreme Court’s decision follows its ruling from last year.
In that 6-3 vote, the court’s conservative majority stopped Biden’s plan to cancel $430 billion in student loan debt.
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The court used the “major questions” doctrine in its reasoning. This legal idea lets judges strike down big executive actions unless Congress has clearly allowed them through laws.