Staff Reports
The Supreme Court has once again slapped Joe Biden with a hefty dose of reality, rejecting the administration’s appeal to lift a block on the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan. This latest legal blow leaves millions of borrowers hanging in limbo as they wonder if Biden’s ambitious vision of erasing student loan debts is just another pipe dream designed to get more college graduates out to the polls.
Originally designed as a kind of rescue raft after the Supreme Court sunk a more audacious plan to forgive over $400 billion in student loans, the SAVE plan was supposed to be a gentler approach. But as is often the case with Biden’s policies, the haters—mostly Republican-led states—aren’t having it. They have thrown a slew of legal challenges into the mix, which was predictable given the administration’s pursuit of this questionable debt relief initiative.
🚨BREAKING: The Supreme Court unanimously upheld our court order BLOCKING @KamalaHarris and @JoeBiden' illegal student loan cancellation scheme.
This is a HUGE victory for the working Americans who won't have to foot the bill for the Biden-Harris Ivy League bailout. pic.twitter.com/iK8G1yORHt
— Attorney General Andrew Bailey (@AGAndrewBailey) August 28, 2024
In an unexpected twist, a federal appeals court out of Missouri threw a wrench in the SAVE plan by blocking it entirely while the case drags through lower courts. When the Biden administration cried foul, they turned to the Supreme Court, looking for a swift rescue. Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who happens to oversee matters in Missouri, was left to sift through this mess.
Currently, around 8 million borrowers are anxiously awaiting some clarity on their financial future. Enrolled in the SAVE plan, which promises to adjust their monthly payments based on their earnings and household size, they now find their hopes resting on the whims of a court system that seems increasingly less favorable to Biden’s debt relief dreams. The Supreme Court has made it clear they want the lower court to act posthaste, which suggests that momentum might not be on the side of those hoping to see their loans forgiven anytime soon.
With Biden promoting the SAVE plan as a major relief effort—claiming it could possibly make payments vanish altogether for some while drastically reducing costs for others—the skepticism is palpable. The plan aims to forgive loans for people with an original balance of $12,000 or less after just ten years of payments. But since when do lofty promises from the government translate into reality? This initiative was a cornerstone of Biden’s campaign to win over progressive voters in 2020, but as the legal battles brew, it now teeters precariously on the edge of failure.
Ultimately, while a few borrowers may have experienced some reductions in payments due to already effective provisions, the bigger picture reveals an administration struggling to uphold its promises. Just as it seems that the White House has been walloped by a series of legal speed bumps, it is increasingly clear: if there’s one thing the Biden administration does well, it’s turning simple debt relief into a drawn-out court drama.
