The Justice Department said in a court filing Thursday that it plans to ask the Supreme Court to reinstate the Biden administration’s student debt relief program.
“The government will file a petition with the Supreme Court to vacate a separate injunction against the Secretary’s lawsuit entered by the Eighth Circuit earlier this week,” the DOJ said in the filing with the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals, which the administration asked to stay a lower court judge’s ruling striking down the policy.
In addition to that lower court ruling, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals blocked the policy on Monday.
The DOJ signaled in the new filing that it may appeal both cases to the Supreme Court.
“We are confident in our legal authority to carry out this program and will take this fight to the Supreme Court so borrowers quickly get the clarity and relief they deserve,” said White House spokesman Abdullah Hassan. “President Biden will never stop fighting to bring relief to working and middle-class Americans.”
The Biden administration has faced several legal challenges to the student loan forgiveness program since it was announced in August, and court action will have to take place before it can cancel any federal student loan debt under the program.
Under program rules, eligible low- and moderate-income borrowers can receive up to $10,000 in federal student loan forgiveness and up to $20,000 in cancellation if they also received a Pell grant while enrolled in college.
The legal path is murky, but it could take many months to resolve the issue.
This story has been updated with additional details.
