Seven Republican attorneys general filed a lawsuit Tuesday against President Joe Biden’s administration over a new student loan forgiveness plan launched this week.
Biden on Monday said he would roll out a plan to cancel loans of at least $5,000 for more than 10 million Americans with student loans, despite the Supreme Court rejecting Biden’s previous effort in June 2023. Announced. Missouri Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey lawsuit It joined Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, North Dakota, Ohio and Oklahoma in calling the president’s plan unconstitutional and “unlawful.” (Related: Biden announces plan to wipe out student loan debt for millions more Americans)
“With the stroke of his pen, Joe Biden is forcing working Missourians to take on half a trillion dollars in college debt. The U.S. Constitution provides that the president cannot pay millions of Americans without the express permission of Congress. “We make clear that we do not have the authority to unilaterally ‘cancel’ student loan debt,” Bailey said. press release. “The president cannot block the Constitution if it suits his political agenda. We’re suing to stop this brazen attempt to do so. As long as I’m attorney general, the Constitution will continue to have some meaning.”
The constitution is clear. Congress has the power of the purse, not the president.
Joe Biden cannot unilaterally “cancel” hundreds of millions of dollars in student loan debt and force ordinary Americans to pay it back.
— Attorney General Andrew Bailey (@AGAndrewBailey) April 9, 2024
president’s new plan The program focuses on low- and middle-income Americans and those who attended “low economic value” institutions, who will now be able to enroll in “income-driven repayment plans.” . The plan has been criticized for ignoring a 2023 Supreme Court ruling that invalidated the president’s unilateral student debt cancellation through the Department of Education’s emergency powers.
Citing the Supreme Court’s ruling, the lawsuit claims that Biden and his administration are trying to “circumvent the Constitution” and “impose significant and costly policy changes on the American people without their consent.” .
“Once again, the President is attempting to unilaterally impose a very expensive and controversial policy that failed to pass Congress,” the complaint says.
In March, the president announced that he would cancel about $6 billion in student loan debt for teachers, nurses, firefighters and others through public service loan forgiveness. Through executive action, the administration canceled $146 billion worth of student loans for approximately 4 million Americans.
The White House and Department of Education did not immediately respond to requests for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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