Supreme Court to Decide Fate of Biden’s Student Loan Forgiveness Program, with Far-Reaching Implications for Executive Action.

The Supreme Court is set to hear two cases on Tuesday that could decide the fate of President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness program. The program, which would allow eligible borrowers to cancel up to $20,000 in debt, has been stalled by legal challenges since October.

The cases, one brought by six states, including Missouri, and the other brought by two people, Myra Brown and Alexander Taylor, who hold student loan debt, argue that the program amounts to an unlawful attempt to erase an estimated $430 billion of federal student loan debt under the guise of the pandemic.

The court’s conservative majority has often expressed skepticism about expansive uses of presidential power, and several of the justices have signaled in recent years that agencies – with no direct accountability to the public – have become too powerful, upsetting the separation of powers.

The Biden administration has argued that the program is within the president’s authority to provide relief to borrowers during the pandemic. The administration has also argued that the program is necessary to help borrowers who have been struggling to pay off their loans due to the economic downturn.

The Supreme Court’s decision could have far-reaching implications for the Biden administration’s ability to use executive action to provide relief to those affected by the pandemic. If the court strikes down the program, it could set a precedent that limits the president’s ability to provide relief to those in need.