These 6 red states successfully blocked Biden’s plan to cancel student loans

A federal judge in Missouri temporarily put President Joe Biden’s student loan cancellation plan on hold Thursday, slamming the door on hopes it would continue after another judge granted a temporary lapse.

As it appeared briefly that the Biden administration would have a window to move forward with its plan, US District Judge Matthew Schelp in Missouri issued an injunction preventing any widespread repeal.

Six Republican-led states called for a ruling in the past hours, after a federal judge in Georgia decided not to extend a separate injunction blocking the program.

The states, led by Missouri’s attorney general, called on Schelp to act quickly, saying the Department of Education “could illegally cancel hundreds of billions of dollars in student loans as soon as Monday.” Schelp called it an easy decision.

Biden’s plan has been on hold since September, when states filed a lawsuit in Georgia saying Biden overstepped his constitutional authority. But on Thursday, United States District Court Judge, J. Randal Hall, decided not to grant a stay after finding that Georgia lacked legal standing to sue in the case.

Hall dismissed the lawsuit that Georgia took to Missouri, which Hall said has “clear standing” to challenge Biden’s plan.

Advocates for student loan waivers briefly had a glimmer of hope that the plan would move forward — the Hall order was set to expire after Thursday, allowing the Department of Education to finalize the legislation. But Schelp’s order put the question to rest.

“This is yet another achievement for the American people,” Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey said in a statement. “The Court has rightly ruled that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris cannot hold working Americans accountable for the Ivy League.”

Biden’s plan would cancel at least some of the student loan debt of about 30 million borrowers.

It will eliminate up to $20,000 in interest for those who saw their initial balances increase due to runaway interest. It would also provide relief to those who have been paying off their loans for 20 or 25 years, and those who attend college programs that leave graduates with large debts compared to their income.

Biden told the Department of Education that he sought to overturn the federal rulemaking process after the Supreme Court rejected an earlier plan using different legal grounds. That plan would have removed up to $20,000 from 43 million Americans.

The Supreme Court rejected Biden’s first motion in a lawsuit filed by Republican states including Missouri.

In his letter Wednesday, Hall said Georgia failed to prove it was seriously harmed by Biden’s new plan. He rejected the argument that the policy would hurt the state’s income tax revenue, but found Missouri to have a strong case.

Missouri is suing MOHELA, a student loan servicer created by the state and hired by the federal government to help collect student loans. In this case, Missouri says the cancellation will hurt MOHELA’s finances because it is paid based on the number of borrowers it serves.

In their lawsuits, Republican districts say the Department of Education has been quietly telling loan servicers to prepare for loan cancellations by Sept. 9, bypassing the standard 60-day waiting period for new federal rules to take effect.

Also joining the suit are Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, North Dakota and Ohio.

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-Collin Binkley, AP Education Writer