Supreme Court Skeptical of Biden’s Student Loan Cancellation Plan

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Facts

• The conservative-majority US Supreme Court (SCOTUS) on Tuesday voiced skepticism over whether it’s within Pres. Joe Biden’s authority to implement his plan for student loan forgiveness by treating it as part of the COVID emergency.¹
• This case was brought by six Republican-led states. SCOTUS is scheduled to hear a second case brought by two individual borrowers.²
• The White House says 26M people have already applied and 16M have already had their relief approved under the program.³
• The six GOP-led states — Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and South Carolina — believe the Biden administration misused the Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students Act of 2003 (the 'HEROES Act') during the COVID pandemic.⁴
• The case made it to SCOTUS after an 8th Circuit Court panel reversed a lower court ruling that said the states could not sue because they lacked standing. A district judge sided with the two students challenging the program in the second case.³
• Previously, the conservative-leaning SCOTUS has ruled against the Biden administration in multiple cases regarding COVID-era policies, including vaccine rules and eviction moratoriums. A decision isn’t expected for months.⁵

Sources: ¹Associated Press (a), ²NPR Online News, ³Associated Press (b), ⁴FOX News and ⁵Politico.

Narratives

• Democratic narrative, as provided by MSNBC. The GOP and those suing to repeal Biden’s loan forgiveness plan are doing it to block the president’s agenda while knowing full well the benefits it would have. The secretary of education has the right to provide debt relief in the face of national emergencies, like the COVID pandemic, and SCOTUS should prevent the Republicans’ obstruction.
• Republican narrative, as provided by Reason. Biden’s plan to cancel student loan debt is not just irresponsible, it's unconstitutional. The executive branch does not have the power to spend $400B of taxpayer money without Congressional approval. Hopefully, this program is struck down and a constitutional way to address the bloated cost of higher education is found.

Predictions