From NPR: The Supreme Court won't block the student loan debt relief program, at least for now

Checking and Balancing

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The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to block the rollout of the Biden administration's student debt relief plan, allowing the program to move forward – at least for now. Loan forgiveness is scheduled to begin as early as Sunday.

Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who is assigned to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, was the one who received the emergency application. Presumably the court's other justices agreed with her decision.

Within hours of the Supreme Court action, another closely watched challenge to the program, this one brought by six GOP-led states, was tossed out by a federal district court in Missouri.

The emergency request to the Supreme Court was brought by the Brown County Taxpayers Association, a Wisconsin organization made up of around 100 taxpaying individuals and business owners that advocates for conservative economic policy.

Broadly, the organization argues that the U.S. Department of Education is acting outside of its administrative authority by forgiving student loans. The Department of Education is vested with the power to manage various loan programs but cannot, the applicants contend, forgive loans "unilateral[ly]." This power, they say, rests with Congress.

- Nebraska v Biden.

- Brown County Taxpayers Association.

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Update: Biden's student debt relief plan is temporarily blocked. Here's what you need to know.

A federal appeals court has temporarily blocked President Biden's student loan forgiveness plan — halting any debt from being erased. But the administration is encouraging people to continue submitting their applications.

. . . "The order does not reverse the trial court's dismissal of the case, or suggest that the case has merit," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement Friday evening. "It merely prevents debt from being discharged until the court makes a decision."

The block was issued by the U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, which is considering a motion from six Republican-led states to stop the program. It's one of several lawsuits that have aimed to challenge the program.

. . . Six states — Arkansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and South Carolina — filed a lawsuit arguing that the federal relief program would hurt state-based loan companies that manage some federal loans themselves.
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Earlier this week, a federal judge dismissed the case, saying it had no standing. The group then appealed and asked a federal appeals court to place a temporary hold on the program while the appeals court reviews the case.