Three lawsuits in opposition to Biden's student debt relief plan were filed just this week. Among them was from Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich.
First, a borrower – though not just any borrower. The harm has to be automatic, and most borrowers who qualify for debt relief will have to apply for it. That's not automatic.
"The claim is baseless for a simple reason: No one will be forced to get debt relief. Anyone who does not want debt relief can choose to opt out. Why would this group bring this baseless claim? Because opponents of the debt relief plan are trying anything they can to stop this program that will provide needed relief to working families."
These federal loans were a mainstay until the FFEL program ended in 2010. Today, according to federal data, more than 4 million borrowers still have commercially-held FFEL loans. Until Thursday, the department's website advised FFEL borrowers that they could consolidate these loans into federal Direct Loans and qualify for relief.
"The Biden plan would provide life-changing relief to 40 million Americans," says Aaron Ament, president of Student Defense, a borrower advocacy nonprofit."I think the reality is that, no matter what they do, they will face politically motivated lawsuits. But, rather than play whack-a-mole by eliminating relief for some borrowers, it would be great to see the administration confidently defend their plan.
Simply discharging these attorneys' debts, he writes,"harms [the Office of the Attorney General's] ability to recruit legal talent, and directly makes it less lucrative for lawyers to work for the OAG."And these are just the suits that have been filed so far. What's not clear is whether an injunction could come before some borrowers see their debts erased, sowing confusion among remaining borrowers who must then wait for the suit to play out.