On student loan forgiveness, conservative justices skeptical of Biden plan

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COURTS & LAW

On student loan forgiveness, conservative justices skeptical of Biden plan

Roberts and others said Congress should be involved in such an expensive endeavor, and they questioned the plan’s fairness

By Robert Barnes, Danielle Douglas-Gabriel and Ann E. Marimow
Updated February 28, 2023 at 2:48 p.m. EST | Published February 28, 2023 at 2:27 p.m. EST

Conservative Supreme Court justices on Tuesday seemed highly skeptical that President Biden has authority from Congress to provide more than $400 billion in student loan forgiveness to borrowers as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Over more than three hours of argument in two cases, conservatives led by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. questioned how what Roberts repeatedly called a “half-trillion dollar” program could be implemented without more direct involvement from Congress, which controls the purse of federal spending. ... The justices on the right seemed unsatisfied with assertions from their liberal colleagues and U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth B. Prelogar that blocking the program would actually thwart the will of Congress, which provided for the secretary of education to act on student loan debt in times of emergency.

Liberal Justice Elena Kagan noted the court often faces difficulty in trying to understand Congress’s intent in passing legislation. “This one is not,” she said, referring to the Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students Act of 2003. She added, “Congress doesn’t get much clearer.” ... Roberts said lawmakers should be involved in order for the Biden administration to launch such a broad program: “I think most casual observers would say if you’re going to give up that much amount of money, if you’re going to affect the obligations of that many Americans on a subject that’s of great controversy, they would think that’s something for Congress to act on.”

The court’s conservative justices also expressed concern about the fairness of providing loan forgiveness to some and not to others. Roberts presented a hypothetical scenario involving two high school graduates — one who takes out a loan to attend college and the other who gets a loan to start a lawn care business.

{snip}

The cases are Biden v. Nebraska and U.S. Department of Education v. Brown.

This is a developing story.

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By Robert Barnes
Robert Barnes has been a Washington Post reporter and editor since 1987. He joined The Post to cover Maryland politics, and he has served in various editing positions, including metropolitan editor and national political editor. He has covered the Supreme Court since November 2006. Twitter https://twitter.com/scotusreporter

By Danielle Douglas-Gabriel
Danielle Douglas-Gabriel covers the economics of higher education, writing about the financial policies that determine a student's access to education and ability to complete a credential. Twitter https://twitter.com/DaniDougPost

By Ann Marimow
Ann Marimow covers legal affairs for The Washington Post. She joined The Post in 2005 and has covered state government and politics in California, New Hampshire and Maryland. Twitter https://twitter.com/amarimow