Another federal court just slammed the brakes on Biden's student-loan forgiveness, keeping debt relief from millions of borrowers

A court dealt another blow to the president's plan to forgive student loans.

The administration cannot cancel student loans until further order of this court or the Supreme Court of the United States, according to the ruling by the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Over 26 million borrowers have already applied for relief through the online form at studentaid.gov.

The decision was made in response to a lawsuit filed by six Republican-led states that argued the debt relief should be stopped because it would hurt their state's tax revenues.

Biden's debt relief plan was struck down by a court in Texas. The decision was appealed by Biden's department.

It is not clear what the timelines will be for borrowers. Applications for relief have stopped being accepted by the Education Department. While the Biden administration is expected to appeal the most recent court decision, the process could take time and borrowers are expected to resume student loan payments in January. The Education Department hasn't said if the pause will be further extended.

Prior to this decision, the department indicated it was moving forward with the debt relief process, and education secretary said "the Department is reviewing applications and sending approved applications to loan servicers, which are ready to apply the relief to your loans."

The HEROES Act of 2003 gives the Education Secretary the ability to waive or modify student-loan balances if there is a national emergency. The Republicans argued that the relief is excessive and should be approved by Congress.