A federal appeals court temporarily blocked a program from President Joe Biden’s administration plan to forgive up to $20,000 in student loan debt on Friday, days after applications for the program launched.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit enacted the pause while it considers a request made by six Republican-led states to stop the program. U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey blocked the group’s lawsuit for a lack of standing on Thursday.
The administration had planned to start canceling some debt this week.
[Application for federal student loan forgiveness is now open]
The Department of Education can still review applications, which are still open and close on Dec. 31. The administration has encouraged applicants to submit by Nov. 15 to process the requests before a pause on student loan payments ends at the end of the year.
Twenty-two million people have applied for loan forgiveness since the website launched, Biden said during a speech at Delaware State University on Friday.
