It is another setback for US President Biden: The Supreme Court has declared his plans for partial student debt relief to be unconstitutional. More than 40 million people would have benefited from this.
The US Supreme Court has ruled that the proposed partial waiver of student loans is unconstitutional. The Supreme Court ruled that the US government had exceeded its powers with this plan. To do this, it needed the approval of the US Congress. The decision was made by a vote of six to three, supported by the conservative judges.
The program was one of US President Joe Biden’s key campaign promises. In total, the Democrat wanted to cancel $400 billion in student debt. More than 40 million Americans would have benefited from it. In particular, the measure should benefit low-income households.
Estimated at $400 billion
The plan has been on hold for months because lower courts blocked it after lawsuits. Biden announced the program last summer and justified it with the financial burden of Corona – at that time student loan repayments had already been suspended due to the pandemic.
The Independent Budget Office of the US Congress estimated that this would have cost about $400 billion. Borrowers now face resuming repayments in early September.
Just yesterday, the US Supreme Court caused a stir with a decision. In fact, the judges declared the simplified admission procedures for minorities at universities to be inadmissible. With the so-called “affirmative action” US universities had tried for decades to ensure better access for minorities. This, too, was seen as a defeat for Biden, who wants to be elected for a second term next year.