The Biden Administration asked the Supreme Court to take up a second case challenging the White House's student loan forgiveness policy, a move that won't result in student debt relief being immediately reinstated, but will make it possible the program could take effect sooner.
The second case was brought by the Biden Administration.
The student loan forgiveness program was put on hold after a federal judge ruled against it.
The White House was sued for implementing the program without allowing for a public comment period before it went into effect.
The Biden Administration argued that the judge made his decision based on legal arguments that were never used, as he overturned the policy.
The Biden administration appealed to the Supreme Court after the 5th Circuit of Appeals blocked the loan forgiveness program.
Student loan relief could go into effect while the case is being appealed, if the Supreme Court takes up the case for oral arguments alongside Biden v. Nebraska.
The White House would need favorable rulings in both this case and the Nebraska case for loan forgiveness to be restored if the Supreme Court paused the case.
As soon as the Nebraska case is resolved, debt relief can be restored, but only after the full appeals process is over.
The Biden Administration argued that the student loan forgiveness rulings left vulnerable borrowers in limbo. The borrowers most likely to default are those who have been told they will be able to get debt relief.
It is not clear when the court will rule on whether or not to take up the case. If the Supreme Court decides to hear the Brown and Nebraska cases together, there will be a final ruling on student loan forgiveness by June. After the Biden Administration extended the pause on payments in response to loan forgiveness being blocked, the moratorium on student loan repayments is set to end on June 30.
There are 26 million people. The number of federal loan borrowers who applied for loan forgiveness before the program was suspended was more than half of the total.
The Biden Administration announced in August that it would forgive $10,000 in federal student debt for borrowers earning less than $125,000, a move that has attracted widespread criticism and a slew of litigation from Republicans. The Brown lawsuit was brought by the Job Creators Network on behalf of two borrowers, one of whom has commercially held loans and thus isn't eligible for forgiveness, while the other was not a Pell Grant recipient and thus is only eligible for $10,000 in relief The policy was accused of being irrational, arbitrary, and unfair in how it excluded them from at least some loan forgiveness. The policy should have been left up to Congress and the Biden Administration wasn't justified in using federal law to forgive debt, according to the lawsuit. The Biden Administration said in its filing to the Supreme Court that the ruling by Pittman did not grant any relief because they can't comment on the program now that it's blocked. The Biden Administration argued that the ruling left the man eligible for $10,000 in relief, but he wouldn't get the $10,000 or the $20,000 he wanted.
The Supreme Court will hear arguments on the student loan forgiveness plan.
The appeals court ruled against the student loan forgiveness plan.
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