Biden student debt relief halted by court challenges

However, Save was not struck down in its entirety.

Monday’s preliminary orders halt the plan in its current status quo until a trial of the separate lawsuits can decide their merits. Both judges however concluded that the Republicans’ arguments would likely prevail at trial.

Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach and Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, who led the coalition lawsuits that represent 18 Republican-led states, hailed the dual rulings.

Mr Kobach called the decisions a “victory for the entire country” against an administration “attempting to usurp Congress’s authority”.

“Only Congress has the power of the purse, not the president,” Mr Bailey wrote. “Today’s ruling was a huge win for the rule of law, and for every American who Joe Biden was about to force to pay off someone else’s debt.”

The administration meanwhile promised to continue pushing forward with its plan.

“It’s unfortunate that Republican elected officials and their allies have fought tooth and nail to prevent their constituents from accessing lower payments and a faster path to debt forgiveness,” said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.

“Today’s rulings won’t stop our administration from using every tool available to give students and borrowers the relief they need.”

More than 400,000 Save participants have already seen some or all of their debts cancelled, including many low-income borrowers.

A second phase of the programme was due to further reduce payments from 1 July. That included halving monthly bills for low-income participants.