The very conservative Supreme Court of the United States on Friday invalidated a landmark measure by Democratic President Joe Biden aimed at canceling part of the colossal student debt.
The high court found, by a majority of six judges out of nine, that the government had exceeded its powers by adopting this costly program without authorization from Congress.
The government “cancelled about $430 billion in federal loans, completely writing off the debt of 20 million borrowers and lowering the median amount owed by another 23 million from $29,400 to $13,600,” said Conservative magistrate John Roberts. on behalf of the majority.
“The question here is not ‘does something have to be done?’, but ‘who has the authority to do it?’ “. However, he adds, “among the greatest powers of Congress is the control of the portfolio”.
This judgment represents a major setback for the 80-year-old president who hopes to win a second term in 2024 and is counting on the support of the working classes to achieve this.
Above all, it will weigh on the finances of millions of Americans.
Higher education costs a fortune in the United States and nearly 43 million people have federal student loans to repay totaling $1.63 trillion.
At the start of the pandemic, the government of Donald Trump had frozen the repayment of these loans under a 2003 law allowing “relief” for holders of student debt in the event of a “national emergency”.
This measure, renewed without interruption so far, must end on August 31.
26 million
Anticipating this deadline, President Biden announced last August that he wanted to erase $10,000 from the slate of borrowers earning less than $125,000 a year, and $20,000 for former scholarship holders.
The candidates had rushed and 26 million files were filed, according to the White House.
Justice had blocked the implementation of this plan after being seized by a coalition of Republican states and by two students not eligible for the 20,000 dollar cancellation.
The plaintiffs accused the Democratic administration of committing taxpayers’ money without congressional approval. For them, the 2003 law, invoked by President Biden, covers the freezing of the debt and not its cancellation.
“We agree with them,” writes Justice Roberts with the support of the five other conservative magistrates of the Court.
As in other very political issues, their three progressive colleagues expressed their disagreement. For them, it is the Court which “exceeds its limited role in the conduct of the Nation”, by “substituting itself for the Congress and the Executive to take a decision of internal policy”.