The decision on whether the student loan forgiveness plan will happen is likely up to the Supreme Court.
On Friday the Biden Administration asked the Supreme Court to reinstate the program after a lower court ruled to halt it.
The pause was put into effect by the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals after a lawsuit from six Republican attorneys challenged the program. Now the Justice Department is asking for the pause to be lifted.
According to CNY Central, the Justice Department claims that the states challenging the program do not have legal standing in court to do so.
U.S. solicitor general Elizabeth Prelogar asked the court to accept the case soon. Normally it will wait until a case has already gone through the lower courts and appeals. The states were given until noon on Wednesday to respond, meaning a decision could be made much sooner.
Student loan payments are expected to resume starting in January of 2023. As the debt cancellation plan faces obstacles, Biden is now being pushed to extend the repayment pause again.
If the high court decides that the states suing have legal standing to move forward, the Biden administration will have a very hard time winning the case.
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