A federal judge has extended a temporary restraining order against the Biden administration’s latest student loan forgiveness plan, potentially jeopardizing the administration’s objective of providing financial relief to millions of Americans ahead of the November 5 presidential elections.
U.S. District Judge Randal Hall, who was appointed by former Republican President George W. Bush, announced on Wednesday that the restraining order blocking the Biden administration from forgiving student debt would be extended for an additional 14 days. During this period, Hall indicated the court would consider the plaintiffs’ request for a preliminary injunction against the relief plan as well as the administration’s request to dismiss the case.
This development marks another setback for the Biden administration’s efforts to alleviate federal student loans. President Joe Biden had initially made promises during his 2020 presidential campaign to reduce educational debt, but legal challenges from Republican factions have repeatedly hindered these initiatives.
The lawsuit challenging the president’s aid package was filed by seven GOP-led states—Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, North Dakota, and Ohio—earlier this month. These states argue that the U.S. Department of Education’s new debt cancellation effort is illegal, just like previous initiatives. They also allege that the administration aimed to implement the plan covertly before the final rule on the program was issued in October, which would contravene regulations regarding the timeline for new rules.
An official from the Biden administration told CNBC on September 11 that the Education Department did not intend to begin forgiving up to $147 billion in student debt for as many as 25 million Americans until authorized to do so.
Judge Hall initially issued a temporary restraining order against Biden’s debt relief plan on September 5, shortly after the states filed their lawsuit. The plan aims to forgive student debt for several categories of borrowers: those who owe more than they originally borrowed, people who have been in repayment for many years, students from low financial-value institutions, and those who qualify for loan forgiveness under existing programs but who have not yet applied.
According to estimates by the Center for American Progress, up to three-quarters of federal student loan holders were anticipated to benefit from this policy, in conjunction with previous debt relief efforts by the Biden administration. This summer, the administration had notified millions of student loan borrowers via email that debt forgiveness was forthcoming.
During the presidential debate on September 10, former President Donald Trump compared Vice President Kamala Harris’s promise to protect abortion rights to Democratic pledges to cancel student debt. He characterized such promises as ineffective, remarking, “It’s just talk… You know what it reminds me of? When they said they’re going to get student loans terminated and it ended up being a total catastrophe.”
Trump further stated, “They didn’t even come close to getting student loans. They taunted young people and a lot of other people that had loans. They can never get this approved.” However, the responsibility for blocking the relief efforts lies with Republican officials and judges, according to Luke Herrine, an assistant professor of law at the University of Alabama.
When the Supreme Court struck down Biden’s first major attempt at student loan forgiveness in June 2023, the decision was split 6-3 along ideological lines, with the liberal justices voting to uphold the program.
