- The Supreme Court struck down Biden's student-loan forgiveness plan on Friday.
- Biden said in a statement that "the fight is not over," and he will find other ways for relief.
The Supreme Court struck down student-loan forgiveness — but President Joe Biden vowed to keep fighting for relief.
On Friday, the high court decided, with a 6-3 ruling, that Biden's plan to cancel up to $20,000 in student debt for federal borrowers is unconstitutional and cannot move forward. The decision came in two separate rulings — the majority ruled that one of the cases, US Department of Education v. Brown, did not have standing to sue the administration. However, the court found that the second case, Biden v. Nebraska, had standing — and it determined that Biden did not use the proper authority to enact this relief for millions of borrowers.
In a statement following the ruling, Biden said: "The fight is not over."
"My Administration's student debt relief plan would have been the lifeline tens of millions of hardworking Americans needed as they try to recover from a once-in-a-century pandemic," he said.
"I believe that the Court's decision to strike down our student debt relief plan is wrong," he added. "But I will stop at nothing to find other ways to deliver relief to hard-working middle-class families. My Administration will continue to work to bring the promise of higher education to every American."
Biden is set to speak on Friday afternoon to provide more detail on next steps for student-loan borrowers. It's unclear at this point if he will try an alternate route to get the same amount of relief to borrowers, given the Supreme Court said he cannot cancel student debt using the HEROES Act of 2003, which allows the Education Secretary to waive or modify student-loan balances in connection with a national emergency, like COVID-19.
Some Democratic lawmakers have urged Biden to use the Higher Education Act of 1965 to cancel student debt, which does not require a national emergency.
"It is very important to note this SCOTUS ruling does NOT remove Biden's ability to pursue student loan forgiveness," Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wrote on Twitter. "The Biden Admin can use the HEA (Higher Ed Act) - our position from the start - to continue loan forgiveness before payments resume. They should do so ASAP."
Still, Republican lawmakers rejoiced at the Supreme Court's decision — and would likely oppose any alternate routes Biden might try to cancel student debt.
"Mr. President, good riddance to your illegal, economically disastrous taxpayer-funded bailout for the wealthy," top Republican on the House education committee Virginia Foxx said in a statement. "I had hoped you would have greater respect for taxpayers and the Constitution, but I am pleased the Court stepped in to hold you accountable."