‘We’re going to win that case’: Biden confident his student loan debt relief plan will be passed

President Joe Biden said Thursday he expects to overcome the legal challenges of his student loan debt relief plan — the claim checks will be sent before mid-November.

The president was asked about the plan during a NewsNation interview, which was blocked Friday by a federal judge in St. Louis, Missouri.

“We’re going to win that case,” Biden said.

“I think in the next two weeks you’ll be seeing those checks disappear.”

Missouri’s federal court said it needed more time to rule on an emergency request from six Republican-led states to block the policy.

The plan, announced in August, was aimed at people who had taken out loans to pay for their studies. Friday’s decision delays the distribution of up to $20,000 in debt relief for more than 40 million eligible borrowers.

About 22 million people have applied for debt relief since the application opened on October 14.

On Friday night, the White House urged people to continue applying for jobs despite the ruling.

Tonight’s temporary injunction won’t stop borrowers from applying for student debt relief at studentaid.gov — and we’re encouraging eligible borrowers to join the nearly 22 million Americans whose information the Department of Education already has the government said in a statement.

“It also doesn’t stop us from reviewing and preparing these applications for submission to credit managers.

It is also important to note that the order does not reverse the court’s dismissal of the case, or suggest that the case is well founded.

“It only prevents debts from being forgiven until the court has made a decision.”

The White House said they will “continue at full speed with our preparations in accordance with this order.”

They added: “The administration will continue to fight Republican officials who are blocking our efforts to provide emergency aid to working families.”

The states that entered the fray were Nebraska, Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas and South Carolina.

Before the Missouri court decision was announced, Biden spoke about the settlement at Delaware State University, a historically black university where the majority of students receive federal Pell Grants.

The president emphasized the ease of the application, where users do not need to upload forms or create an account.

“People, it’ll take less than five minutes,” Biden said.

He said the “vast majority” of applicants are able to file a waiver from their phone.

It is unclear what the appeals court ruling will mean for the 22 million borrowers who have already applied for the waiver.

The Biden administration had promised not to clear debts before October 23 as it took on the legal challenges, but it was first expected to begin clearing debts in mid-November.

Biden criticized Republicans who criticized his aid program, saying “their outrage is wrong and hypocritical.”

He added: “I don’t want to hear from the MAGA Republican officials” who have canceled millions of debt and loans for pandemic relief.

He called politicians including Representatives Vern Buchanan and Marjorie Taylor Greene, who received loan forgiveness, and Senator Ted Cruz, who called some student loan beneficiaries “sluggish.”

Biden asked last week, “Who do they think they are?”

During Thursday’s NewsNation interview, Biden said Russian President Vladimir Putin’s furious rhetoric about nuclear weapons and threats to the world suggested he was preparing to use weapons of mass destruction.

For weeks, US officials have said they have seen no evidence that Russia has changed its nuclear stance, despite fears it could be preparing for a last-ditch attack in Ukraine.

But in the interview, Biden was asked whether he believed Putin when he previously said he had no intention of using chemical or nuclear weapons in Ukraine.

“I guess if he doesn’t intend to, why does he keep talking about it?” he told News Nation after a long pause.

“Why is he talking about the possibility of deploying a tactical nuclear weapon? He’s been very dangerous in the way he’s approached this and he should just get out.

“He can put an end to this, get out of Ukraine.”