Courts Are ‘On Biden’s Side’? One Just Froze His Scheme To Buy Votes With Student Loan Bailout

Late Friday, a federal appellate court froze the Biden administration’s plan to begin canceling student loans, crushing the president’s plot to start zeroing out the debts on Sunday, just two weeks out from midterm elections.

The Eighth Circuit’s decision in Nebraska v. Biden suspending the loan-forgiveness plan dealt a humiliating blow to the president, who just hours earlier bragged that the courts had declared, “We’re on Biden’s side.” But even before the ruling, no court had sided with the president; rather, the earlier cases were all tossed because the Biden administration crafted the program to prevent anyone from obtaining “standing” to challenge the unilateral executive action. 

“Standing,” or the legal right to sue because of a cognizable injury, remains at issue in Nebraska v. Biden, with the Eighth Circuit’s decision on Friday merely temporarily pausing Biden’s plans to wipe out over $400 million in student debt. This week, the federal appellate court will decide whether to enjoin the loan-forgiveness program during the appeal. The Eighth Circuit is not the only court to watch this week, however, as two other challenges to the Biden administration’s student-debt bailout program are teed up for decision and a third may be soon — and any one of these courts could prevent the vote-buying scheme from taking effect before midterms. 

Here’s what you need to know to understand the relevant issues, the pending cases, and the Biden administration’s desperation to keep the courts from addressing the legality of his student-loan wipeout. 

How It All Began

On Aug. 24, 2022, Biden announced that the Department of Education will provide up to $20,000 in student loan cancellation, with individuals earning less than $125,000 ($250,000 for married couples), qualifying for this relief. The secretary of education then, on Aug. 30, 2022, issued a memorandum explaining its view that it had the authority under the HEROES Act to cancel student loans, reversing the opinion of the Trump administration that no such categorical authority exists.

The HEROES Act is a federal statute Congress passed in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks that, among other things, authorized the secretary of education to “waive or modify any statutory or regulatory provision applicable to the student assistance programs” when the secretary deems it “necessary in connection with a war or other military operation or national emergency…” Under the HEROES Act, “the term ‘national emergency’ means a national emergency declared by the President of the United States.” 

The Biden administration’s secretary of education on Oct. 12, published the terms of the student loan cancelation plan, justifying the action based on the presidential proclamation of a national emergency due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the resulting “financial hardship arising out of the COVID–19 pandemic on individuals who owe student loans.” Since then, the administration has opened a portal to apply for loan cancelations, with the president claiming on Friday that 8 million borrowers had already submitted applications.

Even before the secretary of education published the terms of the Biden administration student-loan cancellation plan,