The US Supreme Court refused for now to reinstate President Joe Biden’s latest push to reduce student-loan bills for millions of people, keeping the multibillion-dollar plan on hold while a fresh legal fight over educational debt plays out.
The court turned away an administration request to lift a pause a federal appeals court imposed on the program in a lawsuit by Missouri and other Republican-led states. The order didn’t indicate that any justices dissented.
The court gave no explanation, saying only that it expected the 8th US Circuit Court of Appeals to issue a definitive ruling in the case “with appropriate dispatch.”
The high court order is likely to mean months of additional uncertainty for eight million borrowers who were already enrolled in the so-called SAVE plan.
The Department of Education placed those debtors, who collectively owe more than $400 billion, in temporary forbearance after the appeals court intervened. Other borrowers are currently not allowed to sign up for the program.
“We are disappointed in this decision, particularly because lifting the injunction would have allowed for lower payments and other benefits for borrowers across the country,” the Education Department said in an emailed statement.
“The department will work to minimize further harm and disruption to borrowers as we await a final decision from the 8th Circuit.”