Biden’s Student Debt cancellation Program Halted

A federal appeals court temporarily halted implementation of President Joe Biden’s student debt cancellation program. The decision came on Friday. This is a big blow to the students relief program just a few days after the online application started for the program. Online applications were called from borrowers to have as much as $20,000 in loans canceled.

The lawsuit against the program was filed and previously was dismissed by a federal judge on Thursday. The lawsuit was filed by six states. In its ruling, the court prohibited any student loan debt to be discharged under the program until the court rules on the appeal. The court said that the Biden administration has the time to respond until Monday. The lawsuit was filed by the officials from Nebraska, Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas and South Carolina . All of these states are led by the Republicans.

However, it is pertinent to mention here that appeals court ruling does not prevent borrowers to submit online applications. Online applications will continue to be filled despite the ruling, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated.

“It is also important to note that the order does not reverse the trial court’s dismissal of the case, or suggest that the case has merit. It merely prevents debt from being discharged until the court makes a decision,” she said in a statement. “We will continue to move full speed ahead in our preparations in compliance with this order. And, the Administration will continue to fight Republican officials suing to block our efforts to provide relief to working families.”