The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday ruled against President Joe Biden’s student loan debt forgiveness program.
On August 24, 2022, Biden announced plans to cancel up to $10,000 of student loan debt for borrowers earning an annual income of under $125,000.
Biden also said that the amount of forgiveness would be higher for low-income earners who went to college on Pell Grants. Those who attended college on Pell Grants would receive $20,000 in student loan forgiveness.
In a 6-3 decision, the high court pronounced that federal law does not allow the Secretary of Education to cancel more than $430 billion in student loan debt.
Governor Tate Reeves praised the SCOTUS’s decision and argued that the president’s plan would punish Mississippians who had already paid off any debts they acquired during college or at any other time.
“There is absolutely no reason that Mississippians without college degrees or who paid off their debt should be forced to pay off the student loans of others,” Reeves said. “It is utterly absurd and incredibly unfair to punish the blue-collar electrician or plumber, or any individual who worked hard to pay off his debt, so that Joe Biden can effectively bribe voters with our tax dollars. This is another good decision from the Supreme Court and another win for America.”
The federal government had approved more than 16 million applications for student debt forgiveness before the program was put on hold last November due to pushback from Republican lawmakers nationwide.
