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A federal appeals court has temporarily blocked President Biden’s student loan forgiveness program, halting the administration’s ability to dole out up to $20,000 in relief to student borrowers.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit issued a stay on the program Friday after an appeal from six Republican attorneys general representing GOP-led states.
The ruling came the same week that the Department of Education officially launched the aid application website. And since then, almost 22 million borrowers had applied for forgiveness, Biden announced Friday.
The lawsuit from the six states is one of a few legal challenges against the plan.
But the Friday ruling does not bar all aspects of the plan from commencing. Borrowers can still apply
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement after the ruling on Friday that the order does not stop eligible borrowers from applying for relief, nor does it prevent the government from reviewing applications and preparing them to be transmitted to loan servicers.
The only action that cannot occur while the stay is in place is the federal government officially forgiving the debt.
The stay stops the Biden administration from moving forward in granting the relief until the appeals court issues a ruling on the merits of the case.
“We will continue to move full speed ahead in our preparations in compliance with this order,” Jean-Pierre said in the statement.
The plan would allow borrowers making less than $125,000 per year to have up to $10,000 in federal student debt forgiven. Borrowers who received Pell Grants would be able to have up to $20,000 forgiven. What Republicans argue
The states argue in their original complaint that the Biden administration’s plan is “economically unwise and downright unfair.”
They argue that most debt cancellation will go to people in the top 60 percent of income distribution, since people who make lower incomes are less likely to have attended higher education.
