‘UNCONSTITUTIONAL’

Federal Judge Strikes Down Biden’s Student Loan Forgiveness Plan

The injunction is in addition to a block imposed by an appeals court nearly three weeks ago while it hears a separate legal challenge to the forgiveness program.

A federal judge in Texas on Thursday declared President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan illegal less than a month after the program was blocked in a temporary stay issued by an appeals court. In a 26-page opinion, Judge Mark Pittman wrote that the plan—which would cancel up to $20,000 in debt per applicant, dependent on income—was “an unconstitutional exercise of Congress’ legislative power.” Part of a statement issued by White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre in response read: “We strongly disagree with the District Court’s ruling on our student debt relief program and the Department of Justice has filed an appeal.” The Biden administration has argued that its plan falls under the 2003 HEROES Act, a federal statute that regulates loan assistance to military personnel. Pittman disagreed with the administration’s reasoning, writing that the statute “does not provide the executive branch clear congressional authorization to create a $400 billion student loan forgiveness program.” The ruling was issued from a suit, backed by the Job Creators Network Foundation, on behalf of two borrowers who didn’t qualify for the plan.