Supreme Court Justice Barrett denies second challenge to Biden student loan forgiveness program

• Barrett denied the latest challenge to the loan program without referring it to the full court.
• Another challenge to the program is pending in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit.

WASHINGTON – Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett on Friday denied a second challenge to President Joe Biden's student loan forgiveness program. 

A conservative legal group filed an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court earlier this week asking the justices to block the Biden administration from implementing its $400 billion effort. Barrett declined the request without referring the matter to the court. 

Biden's plan, which would cancel up to $20,000 in student loan debt for Pell Grant recipients for those earning up to $125,000 a year, has already been placed on hold by the St. Louis-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit as it considers a separate appeal.

Barrett denied the application without explanation, as is often the case on the court's emergency docket. It's the second time Barrett has done so in as many months. On Oct. 20, she declined a similar request from a taxpayer group in Wisconsin to temporarily block the Biden administration from implementing the program.

Barrett handles emergency appeals from the Chicago-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit, on which she previously served.  

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The reason there are so many different lawsuits is that groups opposed to the program are attempting to find a plaintiff who has standing – in other words, who can demonstrate they are injured by the effort in a way that allows them to challenge it in federal court. The latest filing from Pacific Legal came on behalf of two people entitled to "automatic" cancellation of their debt. The plaintiffs claim that the automatic cancellation of their debt will create "excess tax liability under state law."

Caleb Kruckenberg, an attorney at Pacific Legal Foundation, argued in a statement that the program was illegal "from stem to stern."

"We're disappointed by today's denial but will continue to fight this program in court," Kruckenberg said.  

Contributing: Chris Quintana