WASHINGTON — Congressional Republicans want the Supreme Court to use a case about student loan debt relief to restrict the regulatory power of the Biden administration — even if that also would hamstring a future GOP president.
In two briefs in high court cases set for oral argument Tuesday, more than half of the Republicans in Congress urged the justices to rely on a legal doctrine that requires an agency to point to “clear congressional authorization” for rules on any “major questions” of political and economic significance.
The Biden administration has argued that the major questions doctrine does not apply to its program to forgive as much or more than $400 billion in student loans owed to the government. The authority to discharge debt is part of a federal benefit program — not a regulatory action — and it is central to a 2003 law, the government said in a brief.
