The Supreme Court said on Monday it will hear a second challenge to President Biden’s student loan forgiveness program, setting oral arguments for late February or early March in a dispute brought by two borrowers with outstanding student loans.
In its order announcing the decision to hear the Texas case, the Supreme Court said the parties will argue two questions: Whether borrowers Myra Brown and Alexander Taylor have legal standing to challenge the lawfulness of the relief plan, and whether the plan is “statutorily authorized and was adopted in a procedurally proper manner.” Both Brown and Taylor have outstanding student debt, but did not qualify for President Biden’s plan
Biden announced in August he planned to cancel up to $10,000 in federal student debt for Americans earning less than $125,000 per year, and an additional $10,000 for recipients of Pell Grants. Later, revisions to the plan made it so that nearly 800,000 borrowers would no longer qualify. More than 26 million people have already applied for forgiveness, but only 16 million applications have been approved, according to the Department of Education.
In the first legal battle, lower courts repeatedly ruled that the President did not have the authority to implement such a plan and that it President Biden violated the constitution. In both legal fights before the Supreme Court, lower courts blocked the implementation of the student loan forgiveness program nationwide; the relief program remains on hold pending oral arguments in the two cases.
The President last month extended his pause on federal student loan payments until June 30, giving the high court time to consider the disputes.
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