Democrat President Joe Biden’s administration has started notifying Americans who applied for student loan forgiveness that their requests had been approved – despite the ongoing legal battle over the plan after federal courts ruled it was unlawful.
The day after asking the Supreme Court to overrule lower courts and allow the student loan forgiveness plan to continue, the Biden administration began notifying applicants they’ve been approved.
According to Business Insider, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona wrote in an email to applicants, “We reviewed your application and determined that you are eligible for loan relief under the Plan. We have sent this approval on to your loan servicer. You do not need to take any further action.”
The student loan forgiveness plan was originally struck down by U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman in Texas, who said the student loan forgiveness 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 subsequently appealed the ruling, and the plan was again ruled unconstitutional by the Eighth 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.’”
In response to the ruling, U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth B. Prelogar told the Supreme Court in a filing that the “Eighth Circuit’s erroneous injunction leaves millions of economically vulnerable borrowers in limbo, uncertain about the size of their debt and unable to make financial decisions with an accurate understanding of their future repayment obligations.”
“If the Court declines to vacate the injunction, it may wish to construe this application as a petition for a writ of certiorari before judgment, grant the petition, and set the case for expedited briefing and argument this Term to avoid prolonging this uncertainty for the millions of affected borrowers,” Prelogar added.