Six Republican States Reach Limit, File Lawsuit Against Joe Biden Over Studen Loan Forgiveness Plan
Six Republican-led states filed a lawsuit against President Biden, Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, and the Department of Education over Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan.
It may be good politics (if the young people defy history and actually vote) but it is bad business and possibly unlawful. Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge announced the lawsuit accusing the Biden administration of violating federal law when the Biden Administration attempted to categorically cancel student loan debt in August.
The suit claims Biden violated federal law, the constitutional principle of separation of powers, and the Administrative Procedure Act when he went around Congress to make his plan come true.
Rutledge said:
“President Biden’s unlawful political play puts the self-wrought college-loan debt on the backs of millions of hardworking Americans who are struggling to pay their utility bills and home loans in the midst of Biden’s inflation.
“President Biden does not have the power to arbitrarily erase the college debt of adults who chose to take out those loans.”
Rutledge issued a statement that said:
“The lawsuit highlights that President Biden knew he did not have the proper authority to authorize this type of executive action, which is why he attempted to work with Congress to find a legitimate and legal solution to the student loan crisis.
“After Congress routinely failed to pass legislation addressing the issue, Biden attempted to unilaterally act far beyond the authority granted to him by the Constitution.
“This action will result in approximately half a trillion dollars in losses to the federal treasury and contribute to the already rampant inflation the nation is experiencing.
“The Democrat Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, summarized it best when she said, “people think the President of the United States has the power for debt forgiveness. He does not.”
“Joining Arkansas in the suit are the states of: Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and South Carolina,” the statement said.
.@JoeBiden’s unlawful political play puts the self-wrought college debt on the backs of hardworking Americans who are struggling to pay their bills in the midst of Biden’s inflation. He doesn’t have the power to erase the college debt of adults who chose to take out the loans.
— Leslie Rutledge (@AGRutledge) September 29, 2022
The libertarian Pacific Legal Foundation on Tuesday filed a separate lawsuit against the Education Department in a federal court in Indiana.
It alleges that plaintiff Frank Garrison, a public interest attorney and an employee of Pacific Legal Foundation, “will face immediate tax liability from the state of Indiana because of the automatic cancellation of a portion of his debt,” as Indiana is one of at least seven states that will tax student loan forgiveness.
“Mr. Garrison and millions of others similarly situated in the six relevant states will receive no additional benefit from the cancellation—just a one-time additional penalty,” the lawsuit reads.
Pacific Legal Foundation also asked a court to issue a temporary restraining order to prevent the loan cancellation from going into effect.