The application for Biden's student debt relief program has been removed from the Department of Education's website after A federal judge in Texas struck down the Biden administration’s plan Thursday evening.
“Courts have issued orders blocking our student debt relief program,” according to a note on the forgiveness application page at Studentaid.gov. “As a result, at this time, we are not accepting applications. We are seeking to overturn those orders.”
The White House says that they plan to appeal the decision. In a statement, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated that the Administration "strongly disagrees with the District Court’s ruling on our student debt relief program, and the Department of Justice has filed an appeal."
According to the White House, 26 million borrowers have applied for debt relief, and 16 million have already been approved for relief. While they are no longer taking new applications until the case works its way through the justice system, the Department will hold onto the already processed applications in anticipation of moving forward if they prevail in court.
The suspension of the forgiveness program comes shortly after a federal judge in Texas rejected President Joe Biden’s executive action in August to cancel up to $20,000 in student debt for tens of millions of Americans after the conservative advocacy group Job Creators Network Foundation sued to halt the implication of the forgiveness program.
In a 26-page decision, Judge Mark Pittman of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas wrote, “In this country, we are not ruled by an all-powerful executive with a pen and a phone."
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