Republican Senators Ask Supreme Court To Kill Biden’s Student Loan Forgiveness

The rationale for the program ‘defies reality,’ 43 senators argued in an amicus brief

By
Diccon Hyatt
Diccon Hyatt
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Diccon Hyatt is an experienced financial and economics reporter who has covered the pandemic-era economy in hundreds of stories over the past two years. He's written hundreds of stories breaking down complex financial topics in plainspoken language, emphasizing the impact that economic currents would have on individuals' finances and the market. He's also worked at The Balance, U.S. 1, Community News Service and the Middletown Transcript.
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Published February 07, 2023
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A group of Republican senators has asked the Supreme Court to strike down President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness program. 

The group of 43 lawmakers led by Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn filed an advisory “amicus brief” with the court Tuesday, arguing that the administration does not have the authority to cancel student loan debt.

The court is scheduled to hear arguments on Biden’s program beginning Feb. 28. At stake is a program Biden announced in August that would forgive up to $20,000 of federally-held student loan debt per borrower. About 26 million borrowers applied for forgiveness before a judge suspended the program while various legal challenges played out. 

The Biden administration argued that a 2003 law called the HEROES Act gave the president the authority to cancel the debt without approval from Congress in light of the public health emergency caused by the pandemic. The senators contend that Biden’s broad-based program went beyond what the HEROES Act allows and helps many borrowers who aren’t in financial hardship.

“The idea that outright cancelation is somehow ‘necessary’ to prevent a waning pandemic from causing these 40-million-plus borrowers to be ‘worse’ off on their student loans defies reality,” the senators wrote in the brief.  

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  1. Supreme Court of the United States. "Brief of Senator Marsha Blackburn and 42 Other Members of The United States Senate as Amici Curiae in Support Of Respondents."

  2. Supreme Court of the United States. "Argument Calendar For the Session Beginning February 21, 2023."

  3. Supreme Court of the United States. "Joseph R. Biden, President Of The United States, Et Al., Petitioners V. State Of Nebraska, Et Al."

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