A federal judge will let expire a temporary restraining order against the Biden administration’s sweeping new student loan forgiveness plan, which could deliver relief to tens of millions of Americans.
The plan could benefit as many as three in every four federal student loan holders, when combined with the administration’s previous efforts, according to an estimate by the Center for American Progress.
U.S. District Judge Randal Hall in Georgia, appointed by Republican former President George W. Bush, delivered the win for the Biden administration late on Wednesday.
The ruling means President Joe Biden may move forward with his administration’s student loan forgiveness plan, just weeks before the November election.
The development stems from a lawsuit against the aid package brought by seven GOP-led states. The states — Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, North Dakota and Ohio — said the U.S. Department of Education’s new debt cancellation effort is illegal.
However, Hall found that Georgia lacked standing to sue against the relief plan, and could not be the venue for the case.
The judge directed the case to be transferred to Missouri, since the states claim Biden’s plan would most harm student loan servicer Mohela, or the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority.
On Thursday, the Republican-led states asked a federal judge in Missouri to decide if the plan will stay blocked.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Education said it appreciated the judge’s ruling that Georgia had “no legal basis” to bring the case, but slammed the GOP movement to stop the relief.
“The fact remains that this lawsuit reflects an ongoing effort by Republican elected officials who want to prevent millions of their own constituents from getting breathing room on their student loans,” they said.
“We will not stop fighting to fix the broken student loan system and provide support and relief to borrowers across the country.”
Biden’s plan would forgive student debt for four groups of borrowers: those who owe more than they originally took out; people who’ve been in repayment already for decades; students from schools with a low financial value; and those who qualify for loan forgiveness under an existing program, but haven’t applied for it yet.
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