WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court hears oral arguments Tuesday in two cases to determine whether President Joe Biden can lean on a 2003 law to fulfill a campaign promise and forgive up to $20,000 in student loans for millions of borrowers nationwide.
The justices are set to decide not only if the Biden administration has the power for a program that could cost the government more than $400 billion, but whether the courts should even allow the lawsuits to challenge the program filed by a group of Republican-led states and a group of frustrated borrowers who don’t qualify.
Biden’s program faces a conservative Supreme Court that has been skeptical when agencies appear to overstep the powers Congress gave them, legal experts say. In this case, the Biden administration says Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona can alter student loan terms in emergency situations.
