Supreme Court to review decision on student borrower defense case

POLITICO

Rebecca Carballo

January 11, 2025

The Supreme Court will review a decision from a lower court that blocked a Biden administration rule that made it easier for student loan borrowers who had been defrauded by their colleges to have their loans forgiven.

As of April, the Biden administration has forgiven more than $17 billion from student loan borrowers who have been defrauded by their colleges under what’s called the borrower defense rule, which has been in effect since 1994 and rewritten in 2016, 2019 and 2022. The 2022 rewrite by the Biden administration was meant to clarify the grounds on which a claim could be filed and went into effect in 2023.

With the court’s latest decision, a rule that Joe Biden spent his presidency championing could now be significantly narrowed in scope.

Jason Altmire, president and chief executive officer of Career Education Colleges and Universities, said the court’s decision does not validate the Biden administration’s arguments.

“It simply means that the Supreme Court will hear arguments as to the scope of the Department of Education’s authority related to [the borrower defense rule],” Altmire said in a statement on Friday. “It remains to be seen how the incoming Trump administration will argue the government’s side of the case, but we strongly believe the facts of the case will show the Department’s onerous [borrower defense rule] went well beyond the agency’s authority.

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