The Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, June 27 as the term heads into what’s expected to be the final week.
Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images
By a 6 to 3 vote, the high court ruled that federal law does not authorize the Department of Education to cancel student loan debt.
Last August, President Biden told federal student loan borrowers that the U.S. government would cancel up to $20,000 of debt for low income students who had received a Pell Grant to attend college, and up to $10,000 for the vast majority of remaining borrowers. He cited a 2001 law that allows the Secretary of Education “to alleviate the hardship that federal student loan recipients may suffer as a result of national emergencies.” That is the same law that President Trump used to freeze federal student loan payments and interest accrual due to the COVID pandemic.
Soon after Biden’s announcement, however, six states filed a lawsuit to stop the implementation of the debt cancellation plan, arguing that Biden exceeded his authority under the federal law. The Supreme Court ultimately stepped in to review the case.
In a second student loan case, the Supreme Court unanimously dismissed on standing grounds a challenge to the plan to forgive some or all federal student loan debt for tens of millions of Americans.
This story will be updated.