Student-loan borrowers could see their debt canceled 'in the next two weeks,' Biden says — but the fate of the relief still sits in a conservative court

• Biden told NewsNation that student-loan borrowers could get their debt canceled within a few weeks.
• He said he's confident he will win the GOP lawsuits attempting to block the loan forgiveness.

The fate of student-loan forgiveness is still uncertain, but President Joe Biden is confident it will all go his way.

Last week, the conservative 8th Circuit Court of Appeals placed a temporary stay on Biden's debt relief plan, in response to a lawsuit filed by six Republican-led states who argued the up to $20,000 debt cancellation plan would hurt their states' tax revenues. While the court's ruling does not mean the relief is blocked — it only means the Education Department cannot discharge any loans until a final decision is made on the legality of the relief — borrowers are still in limbo as they wait for that decision.

Biden isn't too worried.

"We're going to win that case," Biden told NewsNation. "I think in the next two weeks, you're going to see those checks going out."

Since Biden announced the broad debt relief in August, his administration has stood by its authority to enact this one-time loan forgiveness under the HEROES Act of 2003, which gives the Education Secretary the ability to waive or modify student-loan balances in connection with a national emergency, like COVID-19. While conservative lawsuits have challenged that authority, arguing it's an overreach of the law and should require Congressional approval, Biden's Justice Department defended its actions in a recent legal filing.

"Congress hardly could have expressed more clearly its intent to give the Secretary maximum flexibility to ensure borrowers are not worse off financially because of a national emergency, and the Secretary complied with the Act's plain terms," the Justice Department wrote.

However, it would be surprising is if debt is actually discharged in two weeks, as Biden said, given that the plan is currently on pause. While the Education Department can continue processing applications for the relief as borrowers apply, student-loan companies cannot actually apply the relief to borrowers' accounts yet. The administration previously estimated that part of the process could take up to six weeks. The department even recommended that borrowers get their applications in by mid-November to allow enough time for the relief to be processed before payments resume in January 2023.

For now, all borrowers can do is apply for relief, if they haven't already, through the simple form on studentaid.gov and wait for the appeals court to decide whether it will dismiss the GOP states' case, or continue pausing Biden's debt relief plan.

"What we need to do right now is get as many people to apply, and let us fight the fight in the courts," Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said during an NAACP town hall on Wednesday night. "We feel very strongly that not only do we have the authority, but it's the right thing to do to help folks get on their feet."