Courts shoot down two challenges to Biden student debt relief

Supreme Court Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett on Thursday rejected a request from a Wisconsin group to block President Joe Biden's student debt forgiveness plan on the same day a federal judge rejected a separate bid from Republican states to block its implementation.

The Wisconsin-based Brown County Taxpayers Association filed an emergency application on Wednesday, according to NBC News. Justice Barrett is responsible for handling appeals from Wisconsin.

Barrett did not provide explanation for the rejection.

Her ruling comes the same day a federal judge denied a request from six Republican-led states to block the program, the Washington Post reported. Attorneys General for Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and South Carolina filed suit in late September against the Biden plan, arguing it was illegal and would disproportionately impact working-class Americans.

"No statute permits President Biden to unilaterally relieve millions of individuals from their obligation to pay loans they voluntarily assumed," the states argued.

The plan would cancel up to $20,000 in student debt for up to 40 million people. The Congressional Budget Office estimates it would cost taxpayers roughly $400 billion.