June 30, 2023 – 7:14 PM
The US Supreme Court has made it impossible to fulfill one of US President Joe Biden’s campaign promises by banning the release of student loan payments, which already amount to $430 billion, Reuters Books.
The justices ruled 6-3 against Biden, and endorsed six conservative-leaning states that objected to the idea. The court decision also dealt a blow to the 26 million US borrowers who applied for relief after the plan was announced in August 2022.
The justification was written by Chief Justice John Robert, and he was joined on the court by five other Conservative members, while three Liberal MPs dissented.
According to Robert, the Biden administration’s argument that the loan forgiveness program was merely a modification of another program that was already working was weak. According to the Chief Justice, such action would require congressional approval.
A protester calls for the student loan to be cancelled. – Photo: Brian Olin Dozier/NourPhoto/AFP
The chief justice finds that while loan forgiveness was previously applied to a narrow group, the Biden plan was over-applied to all borrowers in the country.
Reuters also quoted a source in the White House who said that they are also ready for this court decision, and Biden announces new measures to protect student loan borrowers in the wake of the ruling.
One of Biden’s campaign promises was to write off some of the $1.6 billion in federal student loan debt. Even then, Republicans criticized the plan, seeing it as an unfair discount to students in higher education. Under the Bidens plan, $10,000 in debt would have been forgiven for those Americans earning less than $125,000 who took out a loan for their college education.
