On Wednesday, Democrat President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan suffered another loss as New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected his request to lift a stay put on the program put in place by a lower district court in Texas last month.
The student loan forgiveness plan was originally blocked by U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman in Texas, who said the plan is “one of the largest exercises of legislative power without congressional authority in the history of the United States.”
“In this country, we are not ruled by an all-powerful executive with a pen and a phone,” Pittman continued. “Instead, we are ruled by a Constitution that provides for three distinct and independent branches of government … The Court is not blind to the current political division in our country. But it is fundamental to the survival of our Republic that the separation of powers as outlined in our Constitution be preserved. And having interpreted the HEROES Act, the Court holds that it does not provide ‘clear congressional authorization’ for the Program proposed by the Secretary.”
The Biden administration appealed that ruling, and the plan was again ruled unconstitutional by the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals.
“The ruling from the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals comes in response to a lawsuit jointly filed six Republican-led states that argued the Biden administration was overstepping its executive powers,” CBS News reported. “It marks the second court ruling blocking the White House’s debt-relief program since a federal judge in Texas on Thursday blocked the program and declared it ‘unlawful.’”
The Biden administration then asked the 5th Circuit Court to put a hold on the previous ruling and allow the plan to continue, but the court refused to do so on Wednesday and allowed Pittman’s ruling to remain in place.
