relief on the horizon
Biden predicts student debt payments will go out 'in the next 2 weeks', despite pending lawsuits
President Biden believes student loan relief checks could go out in the next couple of weeks, despite lingering litigation that is temporarily blocking the plan, CNN reports Friday. Biden seemed optimistic about his administration's chances in the pending appeal.
Biden made the remarks during an interview at local TV station network Nexstar Media in Syracuse, New York. "We're going to win that case. I think in the next two weeks you're going to see those checks going out," Biden told the host.
His comments come a week after a federal appeals court placed a temporary hold on the administration's debt relief plan. The court granted the delay after they considered the appeal of a group of Republican lawmakers. A judge dismissed the initial lawsuit filed by representatives from Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas, Nebraska, South Carolina, and Iowa. Other conservative groups and Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich have filed lawsuits to bar the White House from forgiving up to $20,000 of eligible student loan debts nationwide.
The Department of Education previously informed borrowers who were automatically eligible for automatic debt relief without having to apply that they shouldn't expect to see the deductions before Nov. 14, per CNN.
Biden first announced his plans for student loan forgivenessover the summer, and the application officially launched in October. In a press statement responding to the hold, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre assured eligible borrowers that the block would not stop the administration from reviewing their applications.