Justices on the bench hearing arguments about the student loan forgiveness program.
Source: Bill Hennessy
There were many tense moments Tuesday as the nine Supreme Court justices grilled the plaintiffs challenging the Biden administration’s student loan forgiveness plan and the government attorney defending the policy.
The Supreme Court agreed to hear two challenges against President Joe Biden’s unprecedented plan to cancel up to $20,000 in student debt for tens of millions of Americans. Six Republican-led states brought one lawsuit against the forgiveness plan, and conservative advocacy organization, the Job Creators Network Foundation, backed the second. Both accuse the president of overstepping his authority.
While the justices heard oral arguments, hundreds of student loan borrowers from around the country gathered outside the court in support of the president’s plan, with signs bearing messages such as “Death to student debt” and “Student debt cancellation is legal.”
The justices are expected to issue a decision by the end of June.
Here were three of the most heated exchanges during the arguments.
Response to a ‘once-in-a-century pandemic’
The Heroes Act of 2003, which the Biden administration is using as its legal justification to carry out its student loan forgiveness program, authorizes the education secretary to “waive or modify” student loan programs during national emergencies to avoid borrower distress.
Some of the justices expressed skepticism that that law permits the president to carry out the kind of sweeping debt relief his forgiveness plan entails. At an estimated cost of about $400 billion, Biden’s plan is one of the most expensive executive actions in history.
“You think…Congress shouldn’t have been surprised when half a trillion dollars is wiped off the books?” asked Chief Justice John Roberts.
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