- Advertisement -
WASHINGTON, June 30 (Reuters) - The U.S Supreme Court handed President Joe Biden a painful defeat on Friday, blocking his plan to cancel $430 billion in student loan debt - a move that had been intended to benefit up to 43 million Americans and fulfill a campaign promise.
The Democratic president denounced the 6-3 decision - powered by the court's conservatives and written by Chief Justice John Roberts - and announced fresh steps to provide relief for student loan borrowers using a different approach.
The court sided with six conservative-leaning states - Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and South Carolina -that objected to Biden's student loan forgiveness. Its ruling dealt a blow to the 26 million borrowers who applied for relief after Biden announced the plan in August 2022 and represented a political setback for Biden.
"Today's decision has closed one path. Now we're going to pursue another," Biden said at the White House, announcing steps being taken under a law called the Higher Education Act. "I'm never going to stop fighting for you. We'll use every tool at our disposal to get you the student debt relief you need - and reach your dreams."
Roberts derided the Biden administration's argument that the loan forgiveness program - a move linked to the national emergency arising from the COVID-19 pandemic - was merely a modification of an existing program and noted that such broad action would require clear congressional approval.
