Federal court extends judicial block on student debt forgiveness

A federal appeals court on Monday blocked the Biden administration's student loan forgiveness program. The ruling, issued by a three-judge panel of the Eighth Circuit Court, stated that the block will remain in effect until further notice from the Court itself or the Supreme Court.

Now, the court -based in St. Louis- agrees with the states of Nebraska, Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas and South Carolina, led by conservatives, who requested the blocking of the plan to forgive student debt contracted by several million citizens. The Administration intends to forgive payments of up to $20,000 for students in a measure that could cost close to a trillion dollars.

Against this background, the Court of Appeals ruling also highlighted the alleged "irreversible impact" of the government initiative, according The Hill.

An illegal debt forgiveness scheme

Last week, a federal judge invalidated the student debt forgiveness plan after noting that the presidential action illegally usurped the power of Congress. A federal court in Texas called the plan "one of the greatest exercises of legislative power without congressional authority in history," befitting of a tyranny.

The judgment annulling the plan stated that the debt forgiveness program is "an unconstitutional exercise of Congress' legislative power and must be annulled." In this regard, several Republican Party governors called for the withdrawal of the plan, which is being indicted for unconstitutionality. Even Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi acknowledged that President Biden did not have the power to execute the measure.

However, the White House said it plans to appeal the court's ruling and said it "strongly disagrees" with the Texas court's ruling.