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A federal appeals court has temporarily blocked President Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan — halting any debt from being erased. But the administration is encouraging people to continue submitting their applications.
The Friday evening ruling comes less than a week since the application portal went live. Already, nearly 22 million people — more than half of qualifying borrowers — have signed up. The administration could have begun processing applications and changing loan balances beginning Sunday.
“The order does not reverse the trial court’s dismissal of the case, or suggest that the case has merit,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement Friday evening. “It merely prevents debt from being discharged until the court makes a decision.”
The block was issued by the U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, which is considering a motion from six Republican-led states to stop the program.
