President Joe Biden‘s plans to cancel student loan debt have been partially blocked thanks to a pair of court rulings, but the matter remains alive for both sides in the 2024 election.
Responding to lawsuits filed by a pair of Republican attorneys general, federal judges in Missouri and Kansas ruled this week that Biden’s Saving on a Valuable Education program cannot be fully implemented, temporarily pausing major elements until the case is decided.
The White House responded to the court decisions by blaming Republicans and “special interests” opposed to Biden’s agenda. But the statement by press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre also underscores the ways in which the president is determined to make student debt a campaign issue as he runs for a second term.
He has struggled with support from young voters, in part due to his handling of the war in Gaza, but student loans are one domestic matter that could appeal to the largely Democratic group.
“We will continue to provide this long-overdue relief, no matter how many times Republican elected officials and their allies try to stop us,” Jean-Pierre said.
The two judges, both Obama appointees, did not fully block the SAVE plan. Debt for 414,000 borrowers in the amount of $5.5 billion has already been forgiven, and the rulings will not attempt to claw those amounts back. But far larger amounts that would be written off over the next 10 years have been put on hold for now.
