Judges temporarily halt part of President Biden's student debt forgiveness plan

FILE - Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey testifies before the House Judiciary Committee hearing on the Manhattan District Attorney's Office on Capitol Hill, June 13, 2024, in Washington. Federal judges in Kansas and Missouri ruled on lawsuits brought by state attorney generals on Monday, June 24, blocking much of a Biden administration student loan repayment plan that provides a faster path to cancellation and lower monthly payments for millions of borrowers. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

Federal judges in Kansas and Missouri on Monday together blocked much of a Biden administration student loan repayment plan that provides a faster path to cancellation and lower monthly payments for millions of borrowers.

The judges’ rulings prevent the U.S. Department of Education from helping many of the intended borrowers ease their loan repayment burdens going forward under a rule set to go into effect July 1. The decisions do not cancel assistance already provided to borrowers.

In Kansas, U.S. District Judge Daniel Crabtree ruled in a lawsuit filed by the state’s attorney general, Kris Kobach, on behalf of his state and 10 others. In his ruling, Crabtree allowed parts of the program that allow students who borrowed $12,000 or less to have the rest of their loans forgiven if they make 10 years’ worth of payments, instead of the standard 25.