Texas federal court blocks Biden student loan forgiveness program, Department of Justice appeals News
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Texas federal court blocks Biden student loan forgiveness program, Department of Justice appeals

The United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas Thursday ruled against President Biden’s student loan forgiveness program. Judge Mark Pittman, a President Trump appointee, delivered the opinion. The Department of Justice has filed an appeal of the decision to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

In the 26-page opinion, Pittman ruled that the Department of Education’s (DOE) $400 billion student loan forgiveness program did not have clear congressional authority under the HEROES act. The HEROES act stipulates that the Secretary of Education may only waive parts of the Higher Education Act of 1965, which covers the administration of student loans, in connection with a military operation or other national emergency declared by the President of the United States. The court disagreed with the Biden Administration’s argument that the national emergency of the COVID-19 pandemic falls under such a designation.

First filed on October 10, the case pits two borrowers ineligible for the program against the DOE. The named plaintiff, Myra Brown, holds commercial loans not eligible for forgiveness. The other plaintiff, Alexander Taylor, does hold eligible loans but did not meet qualifications for the full $20,000 in forgiveness. Both plaintiffs are backed by a conservative advocacy group, the Job Creators Network Foundation.

The future of the student loan forgiveness programs remains in doubt. The student loan forgiveness program is currently not accepting applications on its website. The Fifth Circuit, which will hear the appeal,  recently ruled the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau unconstitutional.