Eighth Circuit extends injunction against Biden's student-loan debt forgiveness program

A U.S. appeals court has extended a block on President Joe Biden’s plan to cancel hundreds of billions of dollars in student loan debt at the urging of six Republican-led states, a court filing on Monday showed.

The St. Louis-based 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued an injunction barring the U.S. Department of Education from erasing student loan debt as part of Biden’s plan wipe debt for tens of millions of borrowers.

The court on October 21 had temporarily barred Biden’s administration from discharging student loans while it considered an emergency request by the six states for an injunction.

[The program got shut down in Texas last week. This still matters, however, in case the Fifth Circuit vacates that decision on appeal. — Ed]