Biden v. Nebraska

Unbiased Case Analysis:

            During his presidential run Joe Biden promised to cancel up to $10,000 of federal student loan debt per borrower. He kept his word and used executive action to enact his promise. Nebraska and five other states challenged Biden and his forgiveness program. They argued on the grounds that it violated the separation of powers and the Administrative Procedure Act. The district court and U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit dismissed the case. The Supreme Court stepped in to decide on it.

            The Court decided 6-3 in favor of Nebraska. The Court found that the Secretary of education does not authority under the HEROES Act “…to establish a student loan forgiveness program that will cancel roughly $430 billion in dept principal and affect nearly all borrowers.” Most of the justices cited the major questions doctrine as their reason for rejecting Biden’s forgiveness plan. Unless otherwise stated, Congress does not grant executive agencies the power to make significant political or economic decisions. The secretary of education could not use the HEROES Act to cancel student debt since it was not the original intention of it when Congress approved it. Justice Elena Kagan authored a dissenting opinion which was joined by the remaining two justices.

Personal Perspective:

            I agree with the Court’s decision to stop Biden’s loan forgiveness plan. I am not necessarily against student loan forgiveness. If Biden had received congressional approval, then it would be perfectly legal. However, he used his executive power to circumvent Congress. He used the HEROES Act as justification for waiving student loan debt. I support majors question doctrine which helps keep in check the executive branch from having too much power. Biden’s forgiveness plan would set a precedent that would allow broad interpretation of legislative statutes that were not intended.

Media Critique and Analysis:

            Nebraska v. Biden received major media coverage. Left leaning outlets such as CNN protested the Court’s decision. They favored that the Corut’s decision was merely political and was simply made to disrupt Democrats. They focused on ramifications of the Court’s decision on people who hold student debt. Biden’s forgiveness plan would have likely helped many Americans either pay off their debt or prevent them from defaulting on their loans. Right leaning outlets such as Fox News saw the Court’s decision as a major victory. They did not believe Biden had the power to enact the forgiveness plan without Congressional approval. They focused on the “what if” scenarios if the forgiveness plan was enacted. It would theoretically set a precedent that allows the executive branch to broadly interpret legislative statutes. They also focused on how the plan would help Americans who do not need the support while placing a greater burden on taxpayers.

Sources:

Biden v. Nebraska | Oyez

Supreme Court blocks Biden's student loan forgiveness program | CNN Politics

Supreme Court strikes down student loan program : NPR

Supreme Court ruling on Biden's student debt handout is much bigger than you think | Fox News