A federal judge ordered the latest Harris-Biden administration’s student debt cancellations to resume on Wednesday, dealing a temporary blow to Republican-led states suing over the “unlawful” move.
Augusta, Ga. US District Judge Randal Hall ruled that the suit lacked standing in the Peach State, one of seven involved in the legal action, since it would not harm Georgia tax revenue as officials had claimed.
Hall, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, removed a temporary restraining order he placed Sept. 5 on the debt cancellation plan, kicked Georgia off the suit and moved the case to Missouri, another co-plaintiff.
The GOP state attorneys general who initially filed the suit asked St. Louis US District Judge Matthew Schelp, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, to consider blocking the repayment plan from taking effect by Friday.
In an earlier ruling, Hall determined Missouri could suffer millions of dollars in lost revenue from the Higher Education Loan Authority, a private entity that nevertheless provides a public function in giving students access to federal loans.
Attorneys general in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, North Dakota and Ohio jointly filed the lawsuit Sept. 3, alleging that President Biden and Education Secretary Miguel Cardona’s plan would “unlawfully” cancel $73 billion “overnight” and $146.9 billion for up to 27.6 million student borrowers.
They argued that the administration had already tried to implement earlier plans — only to be blocked by the courts — and was now “trying to do so through cloak and dagger.”
In September, the suit states, Cardona “quietly sent orders to loan servicing companies to start mass canceling loans,” which “violates a statute prohibiting the Secretary from implementing rules like this one sooner than 60 days after publication.”
Cardona had issued a notice of proposed federal rulemaking in April, automatically enrolling students “with at least one outstanding federally held student loan” unless they opted out.
Under the plan, student borrowers with up to $20,000 in debt or who had been paying it off for more than 20 years would have their balances erased — even those with household incomes over $240,000.
Some borrowers involved in income-driven repayment plans for forgiveness like the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan would also be included.
That program would have cost as much as $475 billion but was already blocked by federal courts.
The Supreme Court upheld the rulings after having struck down Biden’s push to make use of a 2003 law designed for Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans to unilaterally cancel up to $430 billion in debt for 43 million student borrowers last year.
This was the third attempt by the administration to write off billions in student loans before the 2024 election, making good on a campaign pledge that Biden, 81, made four years ago to voters.
Since then, the Department of Education boasts, it has already wiped clean $169 billion in debt for 4.8 million student borrowers — a record that Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have touted in swing states before Election Day.
Republicans have accused Biden, and Harris after she replaced him on the ballot, of trying to “buy votes” from young and educated members of the Democratic constituency.
“While we appreciate the District Court’s acknowledgement that this case has no legal basis to be brought in Georgia, the fact remains that this lawsuit reflects an ongoing effort by Republican elected officials who want to prevent millions of their own constituents from getting breathing room on their student loans,” an Education Department spokesperson said in a statement.
The Missouri attorney general’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
