The Supreme Court of the United States ended this Friday with the plan of the Government of Joe Biden to cancel the student debt of millions of college students.
In a decision by the court’s conservative majority, and opposed by the three progressive justices, the court thought the Biden Administration had no right to approve such measures.
The plan had been proposed by the Democratic president to alleviate part of the economic difficulties caused by the covid-19 pandemic, but it was appealed by attorneys general from several states governed by Republicans.
In a decision written by Chief Justice John Roberts, the justices sided with the state of Missouri, which argued that the debt cancellation measure would affect the income of a state entity that manages student loans.
In this sense, Roberts explained that US law allows the Secretary of Education, Miguel Cardona, “to make modest adjustments and additions to existing regulations (…), not to transform them.”
(Also read: Donald Trump’s explosive audio that puts him on the ropes: he talks about Iran)
Joe Biden, President of the United States.
These modifications, according to Roberts, created “a very different new plan for debt forgiveness.”
In a sentiment opinion written by Justice Elena Kagan and seconded by Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson, the three progressive justices argue that “in all respects, the court today exceeds its proper and limited role in the Government of our nation.”
At the end of August of the year, Biden announced that he was going to forgive part of the debt that millions of university students contracted with the federal Administration in order to pay for their studies. Opponents had argued that the plan would cost the public purse $400 billion over the next 30 years.
(Also: Why Did the Supreme Court Refuse to Change America’s Election Rules?)
A White House source said President Biden “strongly” disagrees with the Supreme Court ruling ending his plan. Biden will later “make it clear that he’s not done fighting yet,” said the source who requested anonymity.
EFE
