The bad news continues to plague President Biden’s student loan debt relief program.

On Monday, Nov. 15, the federal appeals court issued a nationwide injunction temporarily barring the Biden administration’s student loan debt relief program.

The Ruling

The ruling by the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis is the latest in a series of legal challenges to Biden’s plan to cancel up to $20,000 in student debt for millions of Americans. The Biden administration stopped accepting applications for its relief on Nov. 12 after a federal district judge in Texas struck down its plan on Thursday evening, calling it “unconstitutional.”

According to various news reports, Monday’s decision by the appeals court came after six GOP-led states argued in a lawsuit that the loan relief program threatens their future tax revenues and that the plan circumvents congressional authority.

“The injunction will remain in effect until further order of this court or the Supreme Court of the United States,” a three-judge panel of the appeals court said in its ruling.

Injunction

The injunction will place the program on hold pending an appeal of a lower court ruling that had allowed the debt relief program to move forward. The Biden administration could ask the Supreme Court to lift the injunction.

A federal judge originally rejected the challenge brought by the six states — Nebraska, Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, and South Carolina, saying that while they raised “important and significant challenges to the debt relief plan,” they ultimately lacked legal standing to continue the case.

The main obstacle for those hoping to bring a legal challenge against Biden’s plan has been finding a plaintiff who can prove they’ve been harmed by the policy. “Such injury is needed to establish what courts call ‘standing,’” said Laurence Tribe, a Harvard law professor.

The appeals court said that Missouri “had shown a likely injury in fact from the program, pointing out that a major loan servicer headquartered in the state, the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority, or MOHELA, would lose revenue under the plan. Missouri state treasury department receives money from MOHELA,” according to one report.

“And since at least one party likely has standing, we need not address the standing of the other states,” the panel concluded.

What it Would Cancel

Biden’s plan would cancel up to $20,000 in federal student debt if they received a Pell Grant. Borrowers without such a grand are eligible for up to $10,000 in relief. More than 30 million people are projected to benefit from the plan.

The average student loan balance currently is more than $30,000.

“Whatever the eventual outcome of this case, it will affect the finances of millions of Americans with student loan debt as well as those Americans who pay taxes to finance the government and indeed everyone who is affected by such far-reaching fiscal decisions,” the panel said in its ruling.

“As such, we approach the motion before us with great care.”

This is a developing story.

Source: Various news reports, CNBC.com