- Arizona’s new Democratic attorney general has dismissed a lawsuit seeking to block student debt relief.
- It was introduced by the former attorney general of the Republican Party in September.
- This lawsuit is separate from the two cases blocking the remedy that are going to the Supreme Court.
Arizona just dismissed one of the first conservative-backed lawsuits seeking to block President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness.
In late August, Biden announced up to $20,000 in student debt relief for federal borrowers making less than $125,000 a year, and lawsuits followed soon after. One of those trials was presented on September 30 by then-Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, a Republican who argued that canceling student debt is unfair and would hurt the state by making it harder to hire lawyers through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program.
It was the third lawsuit filed that tried to block the relief, and on Friday, Arizona’s new Democratic attorney general, Kris Mayes dismissed the case. Mayes took over earlier this month, and she indicated that he would be reviewing whether to continue his predecessor’s legal challenge to Biden’s comprehensive debt relief.
Notably, this case was slower than the other legal challenges to Biden’s plan. Two other lawsuits succeeded in halting the implementation of Biden’s debt relief, and those cases now head to the Supreme Court, which will hear oral arguments. the 28th of February.
One of the lawsuits was brought by six Republican-led states that sued because they argued that debt relief would hurt their states’ tax revenues, along with those of student loan company MOHELA. The other lawsuit was brought by two student loan borrowers who sued because they didn’t qualify for the full $20,000 relief amount, and the Supreme Court will consider whether both cases hold and whether it is legal for Biden to cancel student debt. for millions of Americans.
Some Democratic lawmakers have criticized the potential partisan interests federal judges had when they blocked the relief. For example, Texas federal judge Mark Pittman, appointed by former President Donald Trump, ruled on the lawsuit filed by the two student loan borrowers, and the New York representative. Mondaire Jones referenced conservative influences in December.
“How can a single Trump-appointed judge in Texas, through a single opinion, strike down the Biden administration’s meticulously planned executive order in all 50 states?” jones wrote in an opinion piece.
Republican lawmakers and the plaintiffs in the case have continued to maintain that the sweeping relief Biden is proposing is an overreach of his authority by using the HEROES Act of 2003, which gives the Secretary of Education the ability to waive or modify student loan balances. . in connection with a national emergency. Republicans have argued that relief on this scale should require congressional approval, but the Biden administration has maintained confidence in his case and that the Supreme Court should uphold relief this year.
