LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KARK) – A federal judge in Missouri has thrown out a case brought by six Republican-led states seeking to block the Biden administration’s plan to forgive some borrowers up to $20,000 in student loan debt.
District Judge Henry Autrey of the Eastern District of Missouri made the decision late Thursday.
Shortly before 7 p.m., Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge said she would immediately file an appeal on behalf of the state and the others involved in the case – Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and South Carolina.
“I am disappointed by the court’s decision to dismiss our lawsuit,” Rutledge said in a statement. “The state coalition will immediately appeal this decision.”
The dismissal of the case was the second legal blow to opponents of the Biden plan on Thursday. Earlier in the day, Supreme Court Justice Amy Comey Barrett rejected an emergency bid to block the plan that came from a Wisconsin group.
The six-state lawsuit was filed in September and claims the student debt forgiveness plan violated federal law, ignored the separation of powers and violated the Administrative Procedure Act.
If Rutledge appeals the case, it will be extended to the 8thth District Court of Appeal.
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