Supreme Court strikes down Biden student loan forgiveness: Now what?
When the Biden administration announced the federal government would forgive $10,000 in federal student loan debt per eligible borrower (and $20,000 in federal loans for Pell grant recipients) in August of last year, plenty of us were skeptical from day one. After all, many legal scholars and political experts agree the President doesn’t have the power to pass loan forgiveness without the full backing of Congress. There were also going to be legal challenges to such a forgiveness plan, which would reportedly cost as much as $400 billion (give or take), according to the Congressional Budget Office.
Not surprisingly, there were several serious legal challenges to Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan that have managed to tie it up from August 2022 until now. These legal challenges worked their way through various levels of the court system until making it all the way to the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS).
The Supreme Court heard a range of arguments about the legality of student loan forgiveness in February of this year and released its official opinion at the end of June. And, what’s exactly what I’m here to talk about today.
Ultimately, the Supreme Court’s decision puts an end to all our questions and worries about whether student loan forgiveness will happen or not. As of June 30 2023, the promise of $10,000 to $20,000 in student loan forgiveness promised per eligible borrower is dead. Like it or not, but blanket loan forgiveness is not going to happen — at least not in the way it was promised and definitely not right now.
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