Republican States Challenge Biden’s Student Loan Repayment Rule

Eleven Republican-led states filed a lawsuit against President Joe Biden Thursday seeking to invalidate the administration’s rule to cut monthly student loan costs and quicken loan forgiveness for some borrowers.

The complaint, filed in the US District Court for the District of Kansas, takes aim at a July 2023 US Department of Education rule allowing borrowers to enroll in income-driven repayment plans that lowered their monthly federal student loan bills to as low as zero. The rule also cancels loans after 10 years of payments for those who borrowed $12,000 and after additional years for those who borrowed more.

The suit marks the latest challenge to the president’s effort to deliver on one of his 2020 campaign promises—lowering student debt burdens—ahead of November’s general election.

The challenge comes after the US Supreme Court struck down Biden’s initial plan to forgive up to $20,000 in federal student loans for about 40 million people, resulting in the administration facing pressure to tackle student debt burdens in other ways.

“Last time Defendants tried this the Supreme Court said that this action was illegal,” the March 28 complaint says. “Nothing since then has changed, other than introducing more legal errors into this Rule’s underlying analysis.”

The state attorneys general for Kansas, Alabama, Alaska, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Montana, Nebraska, South Carolina, Texas, and Utah said the rule is an unlawful way of circumventing congressional approval for loan forgiveness.

The group, led by Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach (R), say it harms them by cutting into their tax revenue.

Their lawsuit says the program violates the Administrative Procedure Act because the Department of Education acted outside its statutory authority. The complaint asks the court for a permanent injunction.

An spokesperson from the Department of Education said in an email that Congress gave the department the authority to define the terms of income-driven repayment plans.

“The Biden-Harris Administration won’t stop fighting to provide support and relief to borrowers across the country—no matter how many times Republican elected officials try to stop us,” the spokesperson said.

The challenged program is one piece of the Biden Administration’s efforts to pare down student debt. After the high court’s 2023 ruling undoing his signature student debt proposal, Biden has taken a piecemeal approach, enacting administrative changes and reconfiguring existing programs to provide relief to different groups.

Earlier this month, Biden announced $6 billion in federal student debt forgiveness for public service workers.

The administration’s efforts have continued to face legal and political pushback. A challenge to the administration’s loan forgiveness program for public service workers is before the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

In total, the White House has forgiven $144 billion for almost 4 million people.

Each state is represented by its respective attorneys general office. Kansas is also represented by Holtzman Vogel Baran Torchinsky & Josefiak PLLC.

The case is Kansas v. Biden, D. Kan., 6:24-cv-01057, 3/28/24.