A federal judge in Texas has ruled that Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness program to be “one of the largest exercises of legislative power without congressional authority in the history of the United States.”
The ruling, issued by United States District Judge Mark Pittman, was also a scathing rebuke of the president’s unconstitutional overreach.
“In this country, we are not ruled by an all-powerful executive with a pen and a phone. Instead, we are ruled by a Constitution that provides for three distinct and independent branches of government,” Pittman wrote. “The Court is not blind to the current political division in our country. But it is fundamental to the survival of our Republic that the separation of powers as outlined in our Constitution be preserved. And having interpreted the HEROES Act, the Court holds that it does not provide ‘clear congressional authorization for the Program proposed by the Secretary.”
Biden was using “The Higher Education Relief Opportunities For Students Act” (HEROES) Act as a fig leaf justification for erasing at least $500 billion in student debt. The argument is that the HEROES Act gives the Education secretary authority to waive rules relating to student financial aid programs “in times of war or national emergency.” The judge refused to accept Biden’s gameplaying and struck down the executive order.
Needless to say, the Biden administration disagreed.
We strongly disagree with the District Court’s ruling on our student debt relief program and the Department of Justice has filed an appeal.
— Karine Jean-Pierre (@PressSec) November 11, 2022
The Job Creators Network Foundation filed a lawsuit in October on behalf of a borrower who doesn’t qualify for the full $20,000 in student debt relief and another who was ruled ineligible. It would appear that both plaintiffs have “standing” to sue — a necessity if the entire scheme is to be declared unconstitutional. Only plaintiffs who can prove they were injured by the debt forgiveness program can sue.
Meanwhile, there are other legal challenges underway.
Pittman’s order comes after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit last month granted a temporary stay against the loan forgiveness program in a separate lawsuit brought by six Republican-led states. The cases are among a growing number of legal challenges to stop Biden’s program. Some of those suits, including one filed in Indiana and another in Wisconsin, have been dismissed for lack of standing.
The GOP-led state suit against the debt relief program is likely to fail for the same reason the suits in Indiana and Wisconsin failed: lack of standing. But the two plaintiffs who are part of the Job Creators Network Foundation lawsuit would appear to check all the boxes to be judged to have legal standing to sue.
Alexander Taylor, one of the plaintiffs in the case, falls under the income threshold and is eligible to have $10,000 knocked off the $35,000 in student loans he holds for an undergraduate degree from the University of Dallas, according to the complaint. Yet because he never received a Pell Grant, a form of federal aid for low-income students, he does not qualify for the additional $10,000 provided to Pell recipients.
Myra Brown, the other plaintiff in the lawsuit, is ineligible for Biden’s plan because her federal loans, originated through the defunct Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program, are held by private entities. Until late September, commercial FFEL borrowers like Brown could consolidate their loans into a Direct Loan to become eligible for Biden’s plan. But the Education Department reversed the policy to head off legal challenges such as the one being brought by the six states.
The cynical use of a “national emergency” that should have ended months ago to circumvent the Constitution cannot be allowed to stand. No doubt, Biden will be able to find a federal judge somewhere who will validate his cockamamie interpretation of the HEROES Act and try to legalize the student debt relief program.
But eventually, the suit will end up before the Supreme Court, where it’s hoped sanity will prevail.
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