A federal judge on Thursday ruled that President Joe Biden’s plan to forgive the student loan debt of millions of Americans is unconstitutional and ordered the program dissolved.
In a 26-page order, U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman, appointed by former President Donald Trump, ruled that the Biden administration lacked “clear congressional authorization” to create the program, which is estimated which will eliminate about $430 billion in student debt. for more than 40 million people. The case in question was filed by two borrowers who did not qualify for relief and is one of several lawsuits filed by opponents of the plan.
The White House and the Department of Education did not immediately respond to BuzzFeed News’ requests for comment. They could try to appeal Thursday’s decision, and the administration has in the past vowed to fight attempts to shut down the loan forgiveness program.
In August, Biden announced that the government would forgive up to $10,000 in federal student loan debt for Americans making less than $125,000 a year, fulfilling a campaign promise to ease the financial suffering of millions of people with the outstanding debt of contracted loans. for the School
According to court documents, the Department of Education relied on the Higher Education Student Opportunity Act of 2003, a law that allows the secretary of education to “waive or modify any statutory or regulatory provision applicable to programs of ‘financial assistance for students’ in the event of war, a military operation or a national emergency.
Invoking statutory authority, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona found the relief program justified a waiver due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which was declared a national emergency by Trump in 2020 .
While Pittman agreed that the pandemic qualified as a national emergency under the law, he questioned whether the law was intended to authorize loan forgiveness. He also said it was “unclear” whether the relief program was necessary and whether the pandemic was still, in fact, an emergency.
“Whether the Program constitutes good public policy is not the role of this Court to determine,” Pittman wrote. “However, no one can plausibly deny that this is one of the largest delegations of legislative power to the executive branch, or one of the largest exercises of legislative power without congressional authority, in the history of the United States.” .
An appeals court temporarily blocked the program last month as it considers a separate case brought by six Republican-led states for an injunction.
“We will continue to move full speed ahead in our preparations to comply with this order,” press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement on Oct. 21. “And, the Administration will continue to fight Republican officials who seek to block our efforts to provide aid to working families.”
BuzzFeed News reporter Anna Betts contributed to this story.