Student Loan Forgiveness Plan on Hold

Another update in the months-long journey of President Biden’s student debt forgiveness came on Friday. A United States appeals court temporarily blocked the plan from moving forward. 

President Joe Biden first announced his plans to forgive up to $20,000 for borrowers across the country. Since the applications went live in mid-October, 22 million Americans have submitted the form, according to CNBC. 

However, after the policy was announced, “attorneys general from Republican-led states — Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and South Carolina — sued the Biden administration in an effort to stop its plan to cancel hundreds of billions of dollars in student debt,” per CNBC’s report. 

It was ruled by U.S. District Judge Henry Autry in St. Louis that the states did not have the legal standing to continue with the case. 

The GOP-led states filed an appeal and requested the court to stay the president’s plan. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted the state’s petition which is why the forgiveness plan is now on hold. 

The U.S. Department of Education is still encouraging borrowers to continue to complete the application. White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, announced in a statement on Friday that the temporary hold is not preventing them from reviewing and preparing the applications.

For the full list of details regarding the student loan forgiveness hold, please read this CNBC article.