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Republicans are weighing their options to stop Joe Biden’s student debt forgiveness plan from going into effect, including a slew of lawsuits against the president.
Republican state attorneys general – from states like Arizona, Missouri and Texas -have met privately to discuss a strategy that could see multiple cases filed in different courts around the country, the Washington Post reported.
And conservative groups like the Heritage Foundation and Job Creators Network are also weighing options.
No lawsuits have been filed yet, however, as attorneys weigh the best way to battle Biden’s use of executive power to wipe out millions owed to the federal government.
‘We’re actively looking into legal options to halt the Biden Administration’s abuse of power and assault on working-class Americans,’ Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, who is running for the Senate, told Fox News Digital.
Republicans are weighing their options to stop Joe Biden’s student debt forgiveness plan from going into effect, including a slew of lawsuits against the president
Some state attorneys general weighing lawsuits: ‘We’re actively looking into legal options to halt the Biden Administration’s abuse of power and assault on working-class Americans,’ said Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt (above)
Job Creators Network, founded by Republican donor Bernie Marcus, said it is building a legal team and working with advisers a lawsuit.
‘This a bailout enacted by executive overreach akin to the administration’s illegal employer vaccine mandate and eviction moratorium that were struck down by the Supreme Court,’ Alfredo Ortiz, the group’s president, told Fox News. ‘Like those examples of Biden’s regulatory state, this action should also be challenged in court.’
The difficulty may be in finding who has legal ‘standing’ to challenge Biden’s decision in court.
The Supreme Court has already ruled that taxpayers do not have standing to sue the government, meaning an individual cannot bring suit on the issue.
Borrowers who already paid off their loans – and thus don’t qualify for the handout – are also unlikely to have standing.
And state governments are seen as not having standing since the student debt forgiveness does not impose a burden on their finances or powers as it’s a federal program.
Courts are unlikely to deem an average taxpayer as having standing to bring a lawsuit.
One of the chambers of Congress could try to sue the administration, arguing Biden’s decision fringes on congressional power over the nation’s finances. But Republicans would have to win control of the House or the Senate in November’s election for that to happen.
Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, one of the biggest critics of Biden’s decision to forgive some student debt, said in a radio interview on Wednesday it is unclear who can sue.
He said a current college student could fike suit, aruging that debt forgiveness could lead colleges to raise tuition, unfairly subjecting students to higher fees.
‘The difficulty here is finding a plaintiff who the courts will conclude has standing,’ Cruz said. ‘That may prove a real challenge.’
Biden announced last week his administration is forgiving $10,000 in student loans for individuals making less than $125,000 and joint filers making $250,000 combined. Pell Grant borrowers would receive $20,000 in forgiveness.
The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimates the decision could cost U.S. taxpayers around $500 billion or more over the next decade.
Lawsuits are the only way to stop executive action.
Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, one of the biggest critics of Biden’s decision to forgive some student debt, said in a radio interview on Wednesday it is unclear who can sue
Biden announced his student loan forgiveness plans via Twitter on Wednesday, hours before his remarks on the move. It includes $10,000 or $20,000 in loan relief, depending on Pell Grant status, for individuals making less than $125,000 and joint filers making less than $250,000
Republicans have argued Biden doesn’t have the legal authority to wipe away a person’s debt.
‘This is an illegal act by a President desperate for a political win,’ a group of GOP lawmakers said last week.
Betsy DeVos, who was education secretary under President Donald Trump, called Biden’s move ‘100% illegal.’
The White House argues it can waive or modify loan balances under the HEROES Act of 2003.
The law, passed after the September 11th terrorist attacks, allows the Secretary of Education to waive or modify student financial aid programs in times of war or national emergency.
The administration argues the covid pandemic qualifies as a national emergency.
‘The legal authority gives the Secretary the ability to make sure that the pandemic and the emergency does not cause a net financial harm to those folks,’ Bharat Ramamurti, the deputy director of the National Economic Council, said during a recent White House press briefing.
And the Justice Department wrote a 25-page memo justifying the debt cancellation.
The HEROES Act ‘grants the Secretary of Education authority to reduce or eliminate the obligation to repay the principal balance of federal student loan debt, including on a class-wide basis in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, provided all other requirements of the statute are satisfied,’ wrote Assistant Attorney General Christopher Schroeder.