A Federal Court of Appeals has put in place a temporary block on President Joe Biden’s student debt forgiveness program after granting a stay Friday evening.
The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with six Republican-led states that sued the administration. The court temporarily halted the program, which would have forgiven up to up $10,000 in debt for eligible non-Pell Grant recipients, until consideration of an injunction is completed.
The administration has until Monday, Oct. 24 at 6 p.m. ET to file an appeal for the injunction.
The White House didn’t immediately comment on the court’s ruling Friday evening.
The Court of Appeals decision comes a day after U.S. District Judge Henry Autrey dismissed the suit ruling that the six states — Nebraska, Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas and South Carolina — failed to establish they had standing.
Biden announced his plan in August and launched the application process on Monday. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said after the Monday announcement that over 8 million borrowers have already applied for loan forgiveness through the “beta” — or test — version of the application.
Under the plan, individuals with student loans making less than $125,000 can apply for up to $10,000 of debt relief, or as much as $20,000 for eligible borrowers who were also Pell Grant recipients.
The Biden administration had previously said in court filings it could begin canceling student loans as early as this Sunday.
Abcnews
