Student Loan Forgiveness on Hold in Spite of Barrett Decision
(WatchDogReport.org) – On August 24, President Joe Biden announced the cancellation of up to $20,000 in qualified student loan debt, which has led to a flurry of lawsuits by several different states and organizations. One of the first challenges filed came from a group calling itself the Brown County (Wisconsin) Taxpayers Association. After setbacks in the first two levels of the federal courts, it asked the Supreme Court (SCOTUS) to block the forgiveness plan until the lower court could fully consider the lawsuit; it was not successful.
JUST IN: Amy Coney Barrett has swiftly denied a Wisconsin group's bid to block Biden's student-loan forgiveness plan. Barrett (who handles emergency requests from Wisconsin) acted on her own, without referring the case to the full court or seeking a response from the government. https://t.co/utBzg4AhAp
— SCOTUSblog (@SCOTUSblog) October 20, 2022
The emergency request out of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals went to Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who handles these issues in the region. Lower courts both determined how the association did not have legal standing to bring the suit, and they wanted time to argue it out; however, Justice Barrett declined to either intervene directly or to set the matter before it court as a whole.
The mainstream media hailed this as a “victory” for the Biden administration, at times seeming especially smug how this came from a justice appointed by former President Donald Trump. However, the celebration was short-lived because the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals granted a stay in another lawsuit brought by Nebraska, Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, and South Carolina.
The administration has said it’ll continue to take applications for the forgiveness program during the court-ordered pause.
Copyright 2022, WatchDogReport.org
