A federal judge in Texas on Thursday blocked President Joe Biden’s student-loan forgiveness plan, which was already on hold after the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a temporary stay last month.
A conservative group called the Job Creators Network Foundation filed a lawsuit in federal court in Fort Worth in October aruging the Biden administration violated federal procedures by failing to seek public input on the program.
U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump, declared the program “unlawful.”
Thursday’s order is the latest in a series of legal challenges to the Biden administration’s program, which was launched in October. The White House said last week that close to 26 million Americans have provided information to the Department of Education to have their debt potentially forgiven.
Mr. Biden announced in August the debt relief plan, which can forgive up to $20,000 of debt for Americans making less than $125,000 individually or $250,000 per couple.
The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals in October put a temporary stay on the program in response to an emergency motion brought by attorneys for several Republican-led states after a lower court ruled that their September lawsuit to stop the debt forgiveness program lacked standing.
