On Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down President Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan, calling it an overreach by the White House. The plan would have benefited more than 1 million borrowers in New Jersey — a disproportionate number of them women, people of color and people of low income.
In a 6-3 decision, the court’s conservative majority said Biden did not have the legal authority to cancel debt for millions of Americans without congressional approval. The plan would have forgiven up to $20,000 for qualifying borrowers. The court decision comes just months before student loan repayments will be due for the first time in three years. Some progressive critics say there’s still a way for Biden to cancel student loans through the relatively unknown Higher Education Act.
