US President Joe Biden during a Cabinet Meeting at the White House on September 6, 2022.
Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images
The Supreme Court rejected the Biden administration’s attempt to revive student-debt relief.
It will hear oral arguments on the relief in February 2023.
Until then, the loan forgiveness remains blocked.
The Supreme Court decided President Joe Biden’s student-loan forgiveness plan should remain blocked — for now.
On Thursday, the nation’s highest court turned down the Biden administration’s appeal to revive its plan to forgive up to $20,000 in student-loan forgiveness for federal borrowers after two lower courts blocked the policy indefinitely.
The Court will hear oral arguments to the case in February 2023, but until then, the debt relief remains blocked. The Court did not provide an explanation for this decision.
—SCOTUSblog (@SCOTUSblog) December 1, 2022
Since the end of October, the Education Department stopped processing borrowers’ debt relief because the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals placed a temporary stay on the loan forgiveness. That decision was in response to a lawsuit filed by six Republican-led states who argued the relief would hurt their states’ tax revenues. On November 14, the 8th Circuit decided the pause will remain in place, prompting Biden’s administration to take matters to the Supreme Court and ask it to revive the debt relief.
Biden’s Justice Department has also appealed a federal judge in Texas’ decision to block the relief on November 10, in response to a lawsuit filed by two student-loan borrowers who did not qualify for the full $20,000 in debt relief. On Wednesday, before the Supreme Court’s decision, the 5th Circuit rejected that request, as well.
Since the Supreme Court did not rule in favor of the Biden administration and allow the debt relief to be revived, the legal process will continue for months. This means that student-loan borrowers who have not yet applied for relief cannot submit their applications at this time, and the 26 million borrowers who have applied will not see a reduction to their loan balances anytime soon.
Education Secretary Miguel Cardona began notifying borrowers on November 19 that their applications had been approved, “and we will discharge your approved debt if and when we prevail in court.”
In response to these lawsuits, Biden recently extended the student-loan payment pause through June 30, or until the lawsuits are resolved — whichever comes first.
“It isn’t fair that tens of millions of borrowers that are eligible for relief to resume their student debt payments while the courts consider the lawsuit,” Biden said in a statement at the time. “For that reason, the Secretary of Education is extending the pause on student loan payments while we seek relief from the court, but no later than June 30, 2023, which would give the Supreme Court an opportunity to hear the case in its current term.