WASHINGTON — A U.S. appeals court ruled on Tuesday that Democratic former President Joe Biden’s administration lacked authority to pursue a student debt relief program designed to lower monthly payments for millions of borrowers and speed up loan forgiveness for some.
The St. Louis-based 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with seven Republican-led states that sued to block the U.S. Education Department’s program, whose future was already in doubt with President Donald Trump back in the White House.
The three-judge panel held that the Education Department exceeded its authority by trying to use a Higher Education Act provision that allows for income-based loan repayment plans to adopt debt forgiveness on the scale provided by…
