Biden administration files its brief with the Supreme Court, defending student loan forgiveness

The Biden administration has filed a legal brief with the U.S. Supreme Court defending its plan to cancel hundreds of billions of dollars in student debt.

In its arguments to the highest court submitted late Wednesday, lawyers for the U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Department of Justice argued that the challenges to the plan were brought by parties that failed to show harm from the policy, which is typically a requirement to establish so-called legal standing.

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The attorneys also refuted the claim that the Biden administration was overstepping its authority, and laid out how it it is acting within the law.

“We remain confident in our legal authority to adopt this program that will ensure the financial harms caused by the pandemic don’t drive borrowers into delinquency and default,” U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said in a statement.

The Supreme Court agreed to hear the case on President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan last month, and the justices will hear oral arguments on Feb. 28.

In the meantime, the Biden administration is blocked from carrying out its plan. Before it closed its application portal, around 26 million Americans applied for the relief.

This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.