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The U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals definitively ended former President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan on Tuesday. The plan, which aimed to eliminate $500 million in student debt through the SAVE initiative, was challenged by Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey. The court ruled that Biden’s Secretary of Education had “gone well beyond this authority by designing a plan where loans are largely forgiven rather than repaid.”
Bailey emphasized that while the ruling does not have an immediate impact, it sets a crucial precedent to prevent future presidents from implementing similar measures. “Though Joe Biden is out of office, this precedent is imperative to ensuring a President cannot force working Americans to foot the bill for someone else’s Ivy League debt,” Bailey stated.
The Supreme Court had previously denied the Biden administration’s request to lift a block on the SAVE plan last year. A federal appeals court in Missouri had also halted the program’s enforcement pending ongoing litigation. The Department of Justice recently sought emergency relief from the high court, but the effort was unsuccessful.
The Biden administration argued that the court overstepped by issuing a nationwide injunction, which temporarily froze the SAVE plan. A White House spokesperson defended the initiative, stating, “Our Administration will continue to aggressively defend the SAVE Plan – which has helped over 8 million borrowers access lower monthly payments, including 4.5 million borrowers who have had a zero-dollar payment each month. We won’t stop fighting against Republican elected officials’ efforts to raise costs on millions of their own constituents’ student loan payments.”
Biden introduced the SAVE plan after the Supreme Court rejected his initial student loan forgiveness proposal. The White House claimed the SAVE plan could reduce monthly payments to zero, cut costs in half, and save borrowers at least $1,000 annually. Borrowers with an original balance of $12,000 or less would also see remaining debt forgiven after 10 years of payments.
The 8th Circuit’s ruling marks the final legal obstacle to Biden’s student loan forgiveness efforts. Fox News’ Greg Wehner contributed to this report.
