A series of lawsuits from Republican states could dismantle much of President Joe Biden’s education agenda months before the election.
Dozens of states are taking aim at the president’s new student loan repayment plan and expanded protections against sex discrimination in schools — signature White House policies aimed at younger voters. The challenges threaten to unravel Biden’s few major education successes after a botched rollout of federal aid and legal setbacks on debt relief.
Republican attorneys general are accusing the president of overstepping his legal authority and trying to buy votes with a more generous student loan repayment plan known as SAVE. They also say Biden is forcing their states to implement gender identity policies that their voters don’t support. Some won their first victory Thursday when a judge agreed to block government gender identity protections in their states.
“I don’t think it’s a stretch to see that he’s serving certain constituencies of his constituency with all of these plans,” Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen, a Republican who is participating in lawsuits on both issues, said in an interview . “That’s pretty blatantly obvious, especially with the debt plan. He is trying to go after the young, graduate voters.”
Judges appointed by both Democratic and Republican presidents are likely to rule on at least eight of the lawsuits in the coming weeks — potentially putting a halt to both policies this summer.
More than a dozen states are challenging the SAVE plan, which restructures how borrowers repay their federal student loans. Biden has touted the program as a way to cut their payments in half, with millions of borrowers paying no monthly fee. The Department of Education has enrolled nearly 8 million people after top officials, including Vice President Kamala Harris, promoted it for weeks.
The plan limits monthly payments to 5 percent of income starting next month. It already limits interest accrual to keep balances from rising and provides a faster path to loan forgiveness for some borrowers with smaller balances.
“Joe Biden understands that his job is to improve the lives of Americans and that’s exactly why he’s fighting hard to ease the burden of student debt and ensure our children can go to school without fear of discrimination.” , says Seth Schuster, a Biden campaigner. spokesman.
The White House referred the comments to the Department of Education, which called the legal attack on SAVE “yet another attempt by Republican elected officials to prevent their own constituents from obtaining the student debt forgiveness they are entitled to and deserve.”
Education advocates who support the president’s regulations have denounced the lawsuits, arguing that states are not considering how to address student loan debt.
“Young voters are smart,” said Jack Lobel, press secretary for Voters of Tomorrow, a left-wing group trying to attract Gen Z voters. “We see who is responsible for attacking our student debt relief efforts, and it is Trump and his allies. … [Biden’s] persistence on this issue and a range of others is a sign that he is committed to addressing our concerns.”
At least 26 states are also pursuing lawsuits challenging the administration’s Title IX regulation, which codifies protections for transgender students under federal law banning discrimination on the basis of sex.
The rule fulfills Biden’s 2020 campaign promise to unravel much of former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’ Title IX rule, a defining policy of her term. Her rule was intended to strengthen the due process rights of students accused of sexual misconduct and create a process to investigate incidents on campus.
Many Republican states say Biden’s rule violates the original intent of Title IX. More than two dozen states have laws banning transgender students from competing on female sports teams, although transgender women can compete in the Olympics and some other professional sports. Several states, including Texas and Florida, are telling schools not to comply with the updated Title IX rule when it goes into effect in August.
“You cannot comply with Title IX as it has been written and enforced for the last fifty years, and you cannot comply with these regulations,” said Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, who is leading the lawsuit challenging Title IX in her state blocked. “You are violating biological women’s rights by enforcing the rules the way they rewrote them.”
Vanessa Harmoush, spokesperson for the Department of Education, said the agency supports the updated regulations. “Every student has the right to feel safe at school,” she says.
The challenges will keep coming.
Republican Party attorneys general have vowed to sue the Biden administration if it finalizes its separate rule on transgender athletes and women’s sports. GOP states are already preparing to go after Biden’s next student loan debt relief plan, which could take effect this fall and forgive millions of Americans up to $20,000 in unpaid interest.
“Joe Biden is unashamedly trying to overshadow the Constitution with his attempt to ‘forgive’ student loan debt,” Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey said on the social platform X, after details of the plan emerged. “The rule of law means something in this country, @POTUS. See you in court.”
