A federal judge has extended a temporary restraining order against the Biden administration’s recent student loan forgiveness plan, potentially jeopardizing efforts to deliver financial relief to millions of Americans ahead of the November 5 presidential elections. U.S. District Judge Randal Hall, appointed by former Republican President George W. Bush, announced on Wednesday his decision to prolong the restraining order for an additional 14 days.
Judge Hall indicated that during this period, the court would review the plaintiffs’ request for a preliminary injunction against the relief plan and the Biden administration’s request to dismiss the case. This continuation marks another hurdle for the administration’s attempts to address federal student loan debts, a promise President Joe Biden made during his 2020 campaign, but which has faced consistent legal challenges from Republican-led efforts.
The extension arises from a lawsuit filed earlier this month by seven Republican-led states—Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, North Dakota, and Ohio—claiming that the new debt cancellation initiative by the U.S. Department of Education is illegal. The states also accused the administration of attempting to implement the program prematurely, before the final regulations are issued in October, which they argue violates procedures governing the timeline of new regulations.
Despite these claims, a Biden administration official stated on September 11 that the Education Department did not intend to begin forgiving up to $147 billion in student debt for up to 25 million Americans until permitted to do so. Judge Hall initially issued a temporary restraining order against the plan on September 5, shortly after the lawsuit was filed.
The Biden plan aims to forgive student debt for several borrower categories: those who owe more than they originally borrowed, individuals who have been in repayment for decades, students from institutions with low financial value, and those eligible for existing loan forgiveness programs but have not yet applied. According to the Center for American Progress, the policy was expected to benefit as many as three-quarters of federal student loan holders when combined with previous debt relief efforts by the Biden administration.
During a presidential debate on September 10, former President Donald Trump compared the Democratic nominee and Vice President Kamala Harris’s promise to protect abortion rights in the U.S. to their vows to cancel student debt, labeling these promises as mere “talk” and criticizing the administration’s unsuccessful attempts to eliminate student loans.
Luke Herrine, assistant professor of law at the University of Alabama, noted that it has been Republican officials who have attempted to block the relief, with Republican judges ruling against the aid packages. The Supreme Court previously struck down Biden’s first wide-scale student loan forgiveness attempt in June 2023 with a 6-3 vote, divided along ideological lines, where liberal justices supported upholding the program.