Federal Judge Issues Brutal Ruling For Kamala Harris, Smacks Down Top Campaign Pledge

Vice President Kamala Harris’s endless string of promises to pick up the bill for debt holders hit a snag on Thursday after a federal judge ruled that her plans for student loan cancellation will sit on hold for now.

For months, Biden administration officials have tussled in court with Republican attorneys general pushing back against the president’s plan to unilaterally cancel tens of millions of dollars in unpaid student loans as part of a massive handout that critics say amounts to bribery in an election year. U.S. District Judge Randal Hall, a George W. Bush appointee, smacked down that logic, blocking implementation of the order for another 14 days and complicating Harris’s pledge to pick up the tab with less than 50 days till the election. In the meantime, Judge Hall said he would review the plaintiffs’ request for a preliminary injunction against Biden’s relief plan, NBC News reported.

The decision is the latest in a string of setbacks for the Biden-Harris administration which has been lobbied by progressives to move aggressively to cancel student debt for millions of Americans. Nationally, borrowers hold $1.74 trillion in student loans, a record high and more than the $1.1 trillion in national credit card debt. Still, opponents hold that legal debt contracts can’t be wiped from the books through executive order and question whether it’s fair to expect Americans who paid off their bills to now foot those of others who can’t or won’t do the same.

Republican officials in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, North Dakota and Ohio first brought suit to challenge President Biden’s order, which they allege was quietly done to circumvent a final ruling that won’t be issued until October. The administration pushed back, saying in a statement to CNBC that the Department of Education does not intend to forgive $147 billion in student loans for 25 million Americans until it is allowed to do so. Those borrowers fall into four buckets, according to NBC: those who owed more than they originally took out, people who’ve been in repayment already for decades, students from schools with a low financial value, and those who qualify for loan forgiveness under an existing program but haven’t applied.

During a September 10th debate, former President Donald Trump accused his Democratic rival of promising more than she can realistically deliver. “It’s just talk,” Trump said. “You know what it reminds me of? When they said they’re going to get student loans terminated and it ended up being a total catastrophe. They didn’t even come close to getting student loans,” he added later. “They taunted young people and a lot of other people that had loans. They can never get this approved.”

The ongoing court battle comes more than a year after the Supreme Court first struck down President Biden’s student loan forgiveness order in a 6-3 ruling that split along ideological lines. Since then, progressive lawmakers like Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) have urged President Biden to make good on his promise and continue the fight in the courts.