In a major blow to the Biden administration’s agenda, the Supreme Court ruled on Friday that the government cannot move forward with its ambitious plan to forgive student loan debt.

The court, in a decisive 6-3 decision, held that federal law does not grant the Secretary of Education the authority to cancel more than $430 billion in student loan debt.

Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the majority, explained, “The Secretary’s plan canceled roughly $430 billion of federal student loan balances, completely erasing the debts of 20 million borrowers and lowering the median amount owed by the other 23 million from $29,400 to $13,600. Six states filed a lawsuit, arguing that the HEROES Act does not authorize the loan cancellation plan. We agree.”

This initiative, which had been put on hold due to ongoing litigation, aimed to provide debt relief of up to $10,000, and even up to $20,000 for Pell Grant recipients, to individuals earning less than $125,000 per year.

However, the program came with a hefty price tag, expected to cost the government more than $400 billion.

President Biden made an unprecedented push for debt cancellation in August 2022, and his administration received approximately 16 million applications before Republicans raised objections and the program was halted.

Republicans argued that Biden lacked the authority to unilaterally forgive student loans.

The Congressional Budget Office estimated that the president’s plan would burden taxpayers with roughly $400 billion in costs.

Republicans were rightfully outraged at this staggering amount, contending that such forgiveness would be unjust to those who responsibly paid for their education, diligently repaid their loans, or simply chose not to attend college.

Anticipating a ruling against the administration, Biden’s Education Department had already been exploring alternative means to offer relief, seeking potential workarounds.

In response to the student loan crisis, Republicans introduced their own comprehensive plan in June, consisting of a series of five bills.

The GOP plan focuses on empowering students to fully comprehend the true cost of higher education and aims to curtail loans for programs that fail to provide commensurate salaries.

Senator Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, a Republican supporter of the bill, remarked, “This would prevent some of the worst examples of students being exploited for profit. It would force schools to bring down costs and compete for students. What an idea! Additionally, it would protect students from being overwhelmed by insurmountable debt.”

With the Supreme Court ruling, the Biden administration’s attempt to unilaterally forgive student loan debt has hit a major roadblock.