Image source, Getty Images
- Author, Sam Cabral
- Role, BBC News, Washington
Two federal courts have temporarily blocked key portions of US President Joe Biden’s student loan debt relief and repayment plan.
The dual rulings blocks potential debt relief that millions of borrowers may have seen in less than a week.
The White House said it would “continue to vigorously defend” its forgiveness and repayment proposals.
More than one in 10 Americans hold federal student debt – and it is a major election issue for young voters.
To date, Mr Biden has approved nearly $150bn (£118bn) in relief affecting close to five million people – but largely through executive actions, and not via Congress.
The president’s broader ambitions for mass relief have, however, been stymied, with the Supreme Court last year striking down a major proposal to cancel as much as $400bn in loans.
Monday’s rulings deal a blow to Saving on a Valuable Education (Save), which the president has touted as “the most affordable student loan repayment plan ever”.
The Save programme extends payment periods, and effectively forgives the debts of almost all who borrowed $12,000 or less.
Two coalitions of Republican politicians filed lawsuits against Save, accusing the president of “unilaterally trying to impose an extraordinarily expensive and controversial policy that he could not get through Congress”.
Two judges ruled on those cases on Monday, temporarily halting the programme.
In Kansas, US District Judge Daniel Crabtree blocked parts of Save intended to reduce monthly payments and payment periods for borrowers with loans larger than $12,000.
In Missouri, US District Judge John Ross prevented the education department from forgiving loan balances.
Both judges, who were appointed by Barack Obama, echoed arguments from the Supreme Court that Mr Biden’s efforts overstepped his legal authority.
However, Save was not struck down in its entirety.
Monday’s preliminary orders halt the plan in its current status quo until a trial of the separate lawsuits can decide their merits. Both judges however concluded that the Republicans’ arguments would likely prevail at trial.
Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach and Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, who led the coalition lawsuits that represent 18 Republican-led states, hailed the dual rulings.
Mr Kobach called the decisions a “victory for the entire country” against an administration “attempting to usurp Congress’s authority”.
“Only Congress has the power of the purse, not the president,” Mr Bailey wrote. “Today’s ruling was a huge win for the rule of law, and for every American who Joe Biden was about to force to pay off someone else’s debt.”
The administration meanwhile promised to continue pushing forward with its plan.
“It’s unfortunate that Republican elected officials and their allies have fought tooth and nail to prevent their constituents from accessing lower payments and a faster path to debt forgiveness,” said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
“Today’s rulings won’t stop our administration from using every tool available to give students and borrowers the relief they need.”
More than 400,000 Save participants have already seen some or all of their debts cancelled, including many low-income borrowers.
A second phase of the programme was due to further reduce payments from 1 July. That included halving monthly bills for low-income participants.
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