October 22, 2022

An Appeals Court Has Temporarily Paused Biden’s Student Debt Relief Plan

The president called out Republicans for opposing the program.

President Joe Biden speaks about student loan debt relief at Delaware State. Evan Vucci/AP

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On Friday, a federal appeals court issued a stay temporarily pausing the sweeping student debt relief plan President Joe Biden announced in August. The Eighth Circuit’s ruling comes days after applications had opened for the program, which promised to cancel up to $20,000 in debt for borrowers earning less than $125,000 a year and households with an annual income under $250,000. As many as 22 million people have already applied for the relief. The program has been halted while the appeals court weighs a legal challenge brought by six Republican-led states that seek to block its implementation.

A statement by White House Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the temporary order doesn’t prevent borrowers from applying for student debt forgiveness. “We will continue to move full speed ahead in our preparations in compliance with this order,” she said. “And, the Administration will continue to fight Republican officials suing to block our efforts to provide relief to working families.”

Biden’s student forgiveness program is facing several legal challenges. In a lawsuit filed in September, attorneys general and solicitors general representing the Republican states—Nebraska, Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, and South Carolina—argue the Biden administration doesn’t have authority to act without congressional authorization to implement a “Mass Debt Cancellation,” which they describe as “economically unwise and downright unfair.”  On Thursday, Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett dismissed a separate emergency application from Wisconsin taxpayers and business owners to block the program. 

Republicans have turned the student loan relief program into a flashpoint ahead of the midterms. Celebrating the Eighth Circuit ruling, Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge tweeted that “hardworking Americans who did not take on this debt should not be forced to shoulder this burden.” And on Friday, President Biden called out GOP lawmakers including Sen. Ted Cruz from Texas and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) on their “hypocritical’ outrage over the program. “Who the hell do they think they are?” he said during remarks at Delaware State. “I don’t want to hear it from MAGA Republican officials who had hundreds of thousands of dollars of debts, even millions of dollars, in pandemic relief loans forgiven, who now are attacking me for helping working- and middle-class Americans.” 

The Eighth Circuit has given the government until Monday to submit a response to the filing from the states, which in turn will have a Tuesday deadline for their briefs. 

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WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

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