UPDATE: Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals extends injunction blocking Biden’s student loan forgiveness
In light of this finding, the court opted to ‘preserve the status quo’ until a more final decision was made regarding the program’s future.
The court ordered a national injunctive relief as opposed to relief only for the six states involved in the lawsuit.
In a Monday decision, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals released a six-page ruling that extended its previous motion that brought President Biden’s student loan program to halt.
The court ordered a national injunctive relief as opposed to relief only for the six states involved in the lawsuit.
“We conclude that, at this stage of the litigation, an injunction limited to the plaintiff States, or even more broadly to student loans affecting the States, would be impractical and would fail to provide complete relief to the plaintiffs,” the opinion read.
Missouri’s Higher Education Loan Authority (MOHELA) played a significant role in the court’s decision. The MOHELA program manages student loans in the state and the court raised concerns about the impact on education in the state.
“It is alleged MOHELA obtains revenue from the accounts it services, and the total revenue MOHELA recovers will decrease if a substantial portion of its accounts are no longer active under the Secretary’s plan,” the order stated. “This unanticipated financial downturn will prevent or delay Missouri from funding higher education at its public colleges and universities.”
Since Missouri had credible claims to suffer harm from the program, the district court did not discuss the merit or standing of the other five states.
The court also determined that the student loan forgiveness program presented an “irreversible impact” if implemented before the court made a final decision.
“Not only do the ‘merits of the appeal before this court involve substantial questions of law which remain to be resolved,’ but the equities strongly favor an injunction considering the irreversible impact the Secretary’s debt forgiveness action would have as compared to the lack of harm an injunction would presently impose,” the court wrote.
In light of this finding, the court opted to “preserve the status quo” until a more final decision was made regarding the program’s future.
Campus Reform previously reported on the Eighth District Court’s original injunction on Oct. 21.
“Appellants’ emergency motion for an administrative stay prohibiting the appellees from discharging any student loan debt under the Cancellation program until this Court rules on the appellants’ motion for an injunction pending appeal is granted,” the court ruled.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told Americans to continue to apply for loan forgiveness in spite of the legal backlash. The program’s original start date was Nov. 1 but has been postponed due to the injunctions.
Campus Reform contacted the White House and this article will be updated accordingly.
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