Appeals court blocks Biden administration’s student loan program

The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday issued a preliminary injunction blocking all of the Biden administration’s student loan forgiveness program. Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Biden v. Nebraska that the president did not have the authority to cancel student loan debt. Ten days later, the president unveiled the Saving on a Valuable Education, or SAVE, plan, which purported to enable the U.S. secretary of education to cancel student debt. Missouri and several other states sued the Biden administration over the plan in April, arguing that it was unconstitutional for the same reasons the Supreme Court ruled against Biden’s initial student loan forgiveness plan.

Last month a district court put parts of Biden’s SAVE plan on hold. Thursday’s court of appeals ruling halts the remainder of the plan until after the appeals court panel is able to rule on its legality. 

Has anything else happened with the White House’s student loan programs? Shortly before the appeals court decision was announced, the White House on Thursday said it was canceling student loan debt for public service workers such as teachers, nurses, first responders, and law enforcement officials. The recipients applied for relief through the administration’s Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, the White House said. The move aims to give these public service workers more room to support their families financially, the administration added.

Hasn’t the administration canceled debts for millions of other people already? The Biden administration has canceled some or all of the student loan debt held by roughly 4.76 million borrowers, the White House said. On average, $35,000 worth of debt was canceled for each of those borrowers. The administration earlier this year outlined a plan to cancel student loan debt for a total of more than 30 million Americans.

Dig deeper: Read my report in The Sift about Missouri and other states suing the Biden administration over its student loan debt cancellations.