Biden's student loan forgiveness plan faces legal challenge from Republican-led states.

• The Biden administration's sweeping new student loan forgiveness plan is being blocked by Republican-led states through lawsuits against the U.S. Department of Education.
• The Education Department is being sued by several states, including Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, North Dakota, and Ohio, for allegedly attempting to illegally forgive hundreds of billions of dollars in federal education debt.
• The department has reportedly instructed its loan servicers to cancel eligible loans starting from Sept. 3.

The Biden administration's student loan forgiveness plan is being blocked by seven Republican-led states through a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education.

The Education Department is being sued by several states, including Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, North Dakota, and Ohio, for allegedly attempting to illegally forgive hundreds of billions of dollars in federal education debt. The lawsuit also alleges that the department has instructed its loan servicers to begin canceling eligible loans as early as Sept. 3.

The Education Department is anticipated to release its final debt relief rule in October, but the states claim they have discovered evidence that the department could act earlier, as stated in a lawsuit.

A spokesperson for the Education Department declined to comment on the pending litigation.

They stated that they will persist in advocating for borrowers nationwide who are facing difficulties in repaying their federal student loans.

Republicans are using the lawsuit as their latest effort to hinder President Biden from providing student loan relief to millions of Americans before the election.

The Biden administration is currently working on a new student loan forgiveness plan after its initial policy was blocked by the Supreme Court in June 2023. This revised plan aims to provide relief to four specific groups of borrowers, including those who borrowed more than they needed and graduates of low-value programs. Approximately 25 million individuals could potentially benefit from this new policy.