KEY TAKEAWAYS
- The Supreme Court denied the President Joe Biden Administration’s appeal to lift the block on their Saving for a Valuable Education (SAVE) repayment plan.
- The income-driven repayment plan is still frozen, and borrowers enrolled in the plan remain in forbearance until the court case is resolved.
- The two lawsuits against the SAVE remain ongoing, but the Supreme Court could choose to take on the entire case.
The Supreme Court denied an attempt by President Joe Biden’s Administration to restore the Saving for a Valuable Education (SAVE) repayment plan.
Earlier this month, the Biden Administration filed an emergency request that asked the Supreme Court to lift a block placed on the SAVE plan by lower tribunals. The Supreme Court denied the request on Wednesday, upholding the injunction and allowing the block to continue.
Is the SAVE Plan Blocked Permanently?
The injunction will likely be in place until the court case arguing the plan’s legality is resolved.
The income-driven repayment plan, which offered lower monthly payments and easier loan forgiveness, has been blocked since mid-July. Borrowers have been held in limbo as two cases, led by Republican-majority states seeking to block the SAVE plan, worked their way through federal courts.
The lawsuits argue that the SAVE plan’s eventual cost is too high for the White House to authorize alone. The case’s back-and-forth has resulted in forbearance for all borrowers enrolled in the plan until the cases are resolved.
With this injunction upheld, the merits cases will be argued in lower courts and may eventually be brought back to the Supreme Court.