The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to take up a second challenge to the Biden administration‘s bid to forgive millions of student borrowers’ debt after it agreed earlier this month to hear arguments over a separate case early next year.
The decision to take up the case, U.S. Department of Education v. Brown, came after the Biden administration petitioned the case to the justices earlier this month following an appeals court’s decision to continue a block on the costly debt relief program. The lawsuit was initially brought by borrowers who argued the White House improperly put together the plan without a public comment period before it went into effect.
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The conservative Job Creators Network Foundation, which sued on behalf of the plaintiffs, lauded the high court’s decision in a statement to the Washington Examiner.
“If this illegal program isn’t stopped, it will give the executive branch a blank check, not only for this president but every future president without any input from Congress or any public participation,” JCNF President Elaine Parker said.
FATE OF BIDEN’S STUDENT DEBT CANCELLATION RESTS IN HANDS OF CONSERVATIVE SUPREME COURT
U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, overturned the policy on Nov. 10 and held the Biden administration “profoundly erred” by attempting to roll out the plan while also making his decision based on legal arguments that were never mentioned in the initial lawsuit.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit then ruled to keep Pittman’s block on the program until it issues a final ruling in the case, prompting Biden’s Justice Department to appeal to the high court.
The Brown case will also be argued in February, alongside Biden v. Nebraska, a second lawsuit against the debt relief plan brought by Republican-led states that sued against the program. No specific date has been set for arguments.
Biden’s administration asked in its petition for the program to resume, but the justices declined, saying it would defer the decision to put the policy back into effect until after oral arguments.
The Nebraska case saw the halt on the program continue after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit kept it in place. With two circuit courts in agreement, the justices would have to side with the Biden administration in both cases for the student loan forgiveness to take effect and for borrowers to see relief.
Because the high court will now hear two cases that have succeeded at blocking the plan, borrowers will likely not know whether they’ll receive debt relief until the moratorium on student loan payments lifts on June 30 and payments resume.
The Biden administration has argued the changes and stalls to the debt relief plan could place some borrowers at an “elevated risk” of not being able to pay their loans back, citing research that suggests resuming payments after a long pause could cause a 20-fold increase in people defaulting on loans.
Attorneys for the White House maintain its policy is authorized by the 2003 HEROES Act, which both the Trump and Biden administrations have used to ease the financial strains among borrowers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Although the two appeals court stalls of the program appear to suggest a bad outlook for the debt relief plan, a pair of emergency relief filings submitted to the high court earlier this year was rejected by Justice Amy Coney Barrett, a Trump appointee.
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Biden’s plan aims to forgive $10,000 in student loan debt for those making less than $125,000 or households with less than $250,000 in income. Meanwhile, Pell Grant recipients would receive an additional $10,000 in debt forgiveness.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated the plan to forgive the debt of millions of borrowers could amount to $400 billion over the course of 10 years.
