WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal appeals court late Friday issued an administrative stay temporarily blocking President Joe Biden's plan to cancel billions of dollars in federal student loans, throwing the program into limbo just days after people began applying for loan forgiveness.
The White House responded to the court's ruling. "The temporary order does not prevent borrowers from applying for student debt relief at studentaid.gov and in the section on student loan debt relief, click “Apply Now.”
"We encourage eligible borrowers to join the nearly 22 million Americans whose information the Department of Education already has. It also does not prevent us from reviewing these applications and preparing them for transmission to loan servicers," according to a statement from Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
"It is also important to note that the order does not reverse the trial court’s dismissal of the case, or suggest that the case has merit. It merely prevents debt from being discharged until the court makes a decision."
"We will continue to move full speed ahead in our preparations in compliance with this order. And, the Administration will continue to fight Republican officials suing to block our efforts to provide relief to working families."
The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals issued the stay while it considers a motion from Kansas, Missouri and four other Republican-led states to block the program. The stay ordered the Biden administration not to act on the program while it considers the appeal.
It’s unclear what the decision means for the 22 million borrowers who already applied for the relief. The Biden administration had promised not to clear any debt before Oct. 23 as it battled the legal challenges, but the soonest it was expected to begin erasing debt was mid-November.