Federal judge ruling keeps Biden debt relief on hold

U.S. District Judge Randal Hall issued an order on Thursday extending a temporary pause to the Biden administration’s latest attempt at mass federal student debt forgiveness. Hall’s order is the latest development in the case of a lawsuit filed against the Biden administration by the state of Missouri in early September. Six other states joined the lawsuit. Missouri filed the lawsuit shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to lift a preliminary injunction on President Joe Biden’s debt plan. Documentation showed the Education Department instructing federal loan servicers to start canceling hundreds of billions of dollars in loans minutes after the SCOTUS ruling was issued, the state’s lawsuit alleges. Hall’s latest order extends a previously implemented injunction stalling Biden’s debt cancellation attempts for an additional two weeks.

What’s the point of extending a pause by two weeks? The Thursday order came one day after a hearing where each side shared oral arguments. The 14-day extension will allow the court to appropriately review each party’s arguments before issuing an order on pending motions, Hall wrote in his extension order.

How is this still being discussed after the Supreme Court ruled against student loan forgiveness? Biden has continued to promise student loan forgiveness to borrowers even after the Supreme Court blocked his original $400 billion loan cancellation plan last year. The White House has resorted to using pre-established avenues for debt relief, like the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, or establishing programs like the SAVE Plan to reintroduce student loan forgiveness.

The Missouri-led lawsuit is only one of several lawsuits pending against the Biden administration over its attempts to clear debt. Another seven states challenged the constitutionality of Biden’s SAVE Plan in a joint federal lawsuit filed in April, arguing that the president would illegally saddle Americans with debt by side-stepping the Constitution. Nearly a dozen more states filed a separate federal lawsuit in March, also challenging the legality of Biden’s loan forgiveness.

Missouri, Georgia, Florida, Ohio, and Arkansas are all involved in more than one federal suit against Biden.

Dig deeper: Read Josh Schumacher’s report on one of the administration’s latest pushes to cancel student debt ahead of the November election.