Supreme Court keeps Biden student loan SAVE plan on hold for now

The Supreme Court on Wednesday temporarily sided with states that sued to pause the Biden-Harris administration's latest effort to implement student loan forgiveness.

In two separate applications stemming from Missouri and Alaska , Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch, respectively, declined to vacate lower court stays on the Biden-Harris administration's Saving on a Valuable Education, or SAVE, program after referring the matter to the full court.

The plan sought to replace a previous loan forgiveness effort, which was shut down by the Supreme Court last year, that would have forgiven up to $20,000 of loans. The SAVE plan ties monthly loan payments to household size and income earnings.

The Supreme Court's responses to the pair of emergency applications did not come with a stated reason, which is typical, and no public dissents were noted.

While the decision throws into flux millions of borrowers enrolled in the new plan, the case could soon make its way back to the high court, which indicated the justices expected lower courts toiling over the dispute to act swiftly on the matter.

Republicans have long opposed President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan, arguing it harms taxpayers who didn’t go to college, as well as those who have already paid off their debts. Challengers said it would require spending up to $475 billion that was not authorized by Congress.

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Earlier this month, the Justice Department called on the Supreme Court to lift a hold temporarily on the plan put in place by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit, arguing , "The rule is a straightforward exercise of the Department’s express statutory authority to set the parameters of income-contingent repayment plans."

The decision marks a temporary blow to the Biden-Harris administration's efforts as lower courts grapple over the legality of the new plan, fewer than 70 days before the 2024 presidential election and roughly a year since the Supreme Court struck down Biden's broader loan forgiveness effort.