Federal judge issues temporary injunction against latest Biden student loan plan
'This is yet another win for the American people,' Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey reportedly said in a statement after the injunction was issued.
'The Department of Education is extremely disappointed by this ruling on our proposed debt relief rules, which have not yet even been finalized,' a department spokesperson told Campus Reform.
A federal judge recently put President Biden’s proposed student loan cancellation program on hold, after it looked for a short period of time as if the plan would be allowed to proceed.
On Oct. 2, Judge James Randal Hall of Georgia ruled that the plan could proceed. However, six state attorney generals sent a request for an injunction, saying that, if the plan were allowed to proceed, the U.S. Department of Education could “unlawfully mass cancel up to hundreds of billions of dollars in student loans as soon as Monday.”
On Oct. 3, U.S. District Judge Matthew Schelp of Missouri agreed with the states, issuing a temporary injunction.
“This is yet another win for the American people,” Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey reportedly said in a statement after the injunction was issued. “The Court rightfully recognized Joe Biden and Kamala Harris cannot saddle working Americans with Ivy League debt.”
Five other states—Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, North Dakota and Ohio—joined Missouri in requesting an injunction.
“The Department of Education is extremely disappointed by this ruling on our proposed debt relief rules, which have not yet even been finalized,” a department spokesperson told Campus Reform. “This lawsuit was brought by Republican elected officials who made clear they will stop at nothing to prevent millions of their own constituents from getting breathing room on their student loans. We will continue to vigorously defend these proposals in court.”
In August 2023, Campus Reform reported about a lawsuit against the Biden administration’s student loan cancellation initiative filed by the New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA).
“The U.S. Department of Education’s actions violate the Constitution’s Appropriations Clause, which grants Congress near-exclusive authority to cancel debt owed to the Treasury,” the NCLA stated at the time. The Education Department announced a second major student debt plan July 14, amounting to “$116.6 billion in student loan forgiveness for more than 3.4 million borrowers.”
“The primary problem with this forgiveness plan is that it ignores basic civics,” Holly Wetzel of the Mackinac Center, which joined in on the lawsuit, told Campus Reform at the time. “Only Congress has the power and authority to unilaterally forgive debt.”
“Rather than going through Congress, the Biden administration issued its latest debt forgiveness plan via a press release,” she added. “This is not the first time that the Biden administration has blatantly ignored the separation of powers.”
