A Texas district judge’s decision to strike down the Biden administration’s student loan forgiveness plan Thursday is a significant blow to the future of the program, according to experts.
Dr. Robert Kelchen, head of the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Dr. Luke Herrine, an assistant professor at the University of Alabama’s School of Law, concurred.
“In the short term, it’s an existential threat,” he said.
The judge’s order vacated the program, which had promised $10,000 of loan forgiveness to borrowers making under $125,000 and $20,000 of loan forgiveness to Pell Grant recipients. Nearly 26 million people had applied for the debt relief, and 16 million of their applications had been processed, but were on hold due to a separate lawsuit. In response to the ruling, the U.S. Department of Education pulled down the online application for forgiveness.
The Biden administration immediately announced that it would appeal the decision, but U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which would hear the case, might not be a favorable venue.
“The Fifth Circuit is the farthest right appeals court in the country,” said Herrine. “They go significantly farther than even the farthest right judges on the Supreme Court. So, it depends on the panel that's appointed for the case, but I wouldn't think it's out of the question that they would affirm this decision.”
