Skip to content
National Association of Attorneys General
  • Issues
    • Issues
      • Anticorruption
      • Antitrust
      • Bankruptcy
      • Charities
      • Civil Law
    • Issues
      • Consumer Protection
      • Criminal Law
      • Cyber and Technology
      • Disaster Preparedness & Response
      • Elder Justice
    • Issues
      • Ethics
      • Human Trafficking
      • Medicaid Fraud
      • Opioids
      • Powers & Duties
    • Issues
      • Public Health
      • The U.S. Supreme Court
      • Tobacco
      • Veterans & Military
  • Our Work
    • Training & Research
    • Centers
      • Center for Consumer Protection
      • Center for Supreme Court Advocacy
      • Center for Tobacco & Public Health
    • Committees
    • Initiatives
      • Presidential Initiative
      • Strategic Partnerships
      • International Fellows
      • COVID-19
    • Bankruptcy
    • Policy & Advocacy
  • Events & Training
    • Event Calendar
    • Attorney General Symposium
    • Presidential Summit
    • Capital Forum
    • Region Meetings
    • CLE Credit
    • NAAG Trainings
    • Online Learning
    • NAMFCU Trainings
    • NAAG Faculty
  • News & Resources
    • Attorney General Journal
    • Reports & Publications
    • Newsroom
    • NAAG Policy Letters
    • Podcasts
    • Online Learning
    • Research & Data
    • Member Directory
  • Attorneys General
    • What Attorneys General Do
    • Who is my Attorney General?
    • Attorneys General Office 101
    • Research & Data
    • Awards & Recognition
    • Careers in Attorney General Offices
    • Careers in Medicaid Fraud Control Units
  • About NAAG
    • NAAG Staff
    • NAAG Leadership
    • NAAG Member Services
    • NAAG Regions
    • NAAG FAQs
    • SAGE
    • NAMFCU
    • Newsroom
    • Careers at NAAG
  • Find my AG
  • About NAMFCU
    • About the Medicaid Fraud Control Units
    • Reporting Fraud and Abuse
    • MFCU Member Hub
    • Careers with a MFCU
  • Contact Us
National Association of Attorneys General
  • Find My AG
  • Consumer Complaints
  • Member Benefits
  • Contact Us
Log In
  • Issues
    • Issues
      • Anticorruption
      • Antitrust
      • Bankruptcy
      • Charities
      • Civil Law
    • Issues
      • Consumer Protection
      • Criminal Law
      • Cyber and Technology
      • Disaster Preparedness & Response
      • Elder Justice
    • Issues
      • Ethics
      • Human Trafficking
      • Medicaid Fraud
      • Opioids
      • Powers & Duties
    • Issues
      • Public Health
      • The U.S. Supreme Court
      • Tobacco
      • Veterans & Military
  • Our Work
    • Training & Research
    • Centers
      • Center for Consumer Protection
      • Center for Supreme Court Advocacy
      • Center for Tobacco & Public Health
    • Committees
    • Initiatives
      • Presidential Initiative
      • Strategic Partnerships
      • International Fellows
      • COVID-19
    • Bankruptcy
    • Policy & Advocacy
  • Events & Training
    • Event Calendar
    • Attorney General Symposium
    • Presidential Summit
    • Capital Forum
    • Region Meetings
    • CLE Credit
    • NAAG Trainings
    • Online Learning
    • NAMFCU Trainings
    • NAAG Faculty
  • News & Resources
    • Attorney General Journal
    • Reports & Publications
    • Newsroom
    • NAAG Policy Letters
    • Podcasts
    • Online Learning
    • Research & Data
    • Member Directory
  • Attorneys General
    • What Attorneys General Do
    • Who is my Attorney General?
    • Attorneys General Office 101
    • Research & Data
    • Awards & Recognition
    • Careers in Attorney General Offices
    • Careers in Medicaid Fraud Control Units
  • About NAAG
    • NAAG Staff
    • NAAG Leadership
    • NAAG Member Services
    • NAAG Regions
    • NAAG FAQs
    • SAGE
    • NAMFCU
    • Newsroom
    • Careers at NAAG
  • Find my AG
  • About NAMFCU
    • About the Medicaid Fraud Control Units
    • Reporting Fraud and Abuse
    • MFCU Member Hub
    • Careers with a MFCU
  • Contact Us

Supreme Court Report: Biden v. Nebraska, 22-506

Home / Supreme Court / Supreme Court Report: Biden v. Nebraska, 22-506
December 14, 2022 Supreme Court
Share this

  • Dan Schweitzer
    Director, Center for Supreme Court Advocacy
    National Association of Attorneys General

Volume 30, Issue 3

This Report summarizes cases granted review on November 21 and December 1 and 9, 2022 (Part I).

Case Granted Review: Biden v. Nebraska, 22-506

Biden v. Nebraska, 22-506. At issue is whether the Biden Administration’s student loan forgiveness plan exceeds the Secretary of Education’s authority or is arbitrary and capricious and whether the plaintiff states have Article III standing to challenge the Secretary’s action. The Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students Act authorizes the Secretary to waive or modify statutes or regulations applicable to federal student loan programs “as the Secretary deems necessary in connection with a . . . national emergency” to achieve certain objectives, including that recipients should not be placed in a worse position with respect to their student loans because of the national emergency. 20 U.S.C. §1098bb(a). President Trump declared the COVID-19 pandemic a national emergency in 2020, and the declaration remains in effect. Pursuant to the Act, the Secretary in 2020 paused repayment obligations and suspended interest accrual on outstanding loans. In August 2022, the Secretary ended the “pause” on loan repayments (to be effective December 31) and directed the Department to issue $10,000 in student-loan relief to eligible borrowers with annual incomes less than $150,000 and $20,000 for qualifying Pell Grant recipients. Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and South Carolina sued, alleging that the loan forgiveness plan exceeds the Secretary’s authority and is arbitrary and capricious. The district court dismissed for lack of standing, and denied the states’ motion for an injunction pending appeal. The Eight Circuit granted a nationwide injunction pending appeal.

The Eighth Circuit found that at least one state, Missouri, had standing, based on harm that would be suffered by a loan servicer, the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority (MOHELA), which was created by Missouri statute and has financial connections with the state. The court determined that MOHELA may be an arm of the state for standing purposes, and that in any event MOHELA’s statutory obligations to place funds in the state treasury could be impacted by the Secretary’s loan forgiveness program. Having concluded that Missouri could likely establish standing, the Eight Circuit held that the merits “involve substantial questions of law which remain to be resolved” and that the equities favored an injunction considering the irreversible impact of loan forgiveness and that loan repayments were currently stayed. President Biden and the other government defendants applied to vacate the injunction or in the alternative that the Court treat the application as a petition for certiorari before judgment. The Court chose the latter and granted certiorari.

Petitioners argue that the states lack standing generally because the student loan forgiveness plan benefits third parties but does not require the states to do anything or harm them in any way. With respect to Missouri, petitioners argue that the state-created loan servicer, MOHELA, is a distinct legal entity and that any alleged harm from loss of administrative fees for collecting debts that would be discharged would not be suffered by the state. Petitioners also argue that the fact that MOHELA contributed funds to the state treasury was irrelevant because a plaintiff must assert injury to its own legal rights, not to a third party that might owe money to the state. On the merits, petitioners argue that the plan falls within the Secretary’s authority to ensure that borrowers “are not placed in a worse position” in relation to their student loans because of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Petitioners argue that because of the pandemic, borrowers were at particularly high risk of delinquency and default once payment obligations start, and that borrowers within the qualifying income levels were most likely to have experienced job loss, non-student-loan debt delinquency, and other pandemic-related hardships. Petitioners also argue that the Secretary’s action was not arbitrary and capricious because it was based on examination of relevant economic data and long experience with borrowers transitioning back into repayment.

In addition to the standing arguments accepted by the Eighth Circuit, respondent states argue that the Secretary’s action was not authorized by statute because the loan-forgiveness plan and the economic conditions used to justify the plan are not sufficiently connected to the COVID-19 emergency. They next maintain that “the Act’s text and context demonstrate that its purpose is to keep certain borrowers from falling into a worse position financially in relation to their student loans. Yet the Secretary uses it here to place tens of millions of borrowers in a better position by cancelling their loans en masse.” And they argue that the permanent reduction of loan principal is inconsistent with the temporary measures envisioned in the statute. Respondent states also argue that nondelegation principles and the major questions doctrine demonstrate the Secretary’s lack of authority. Finally, respondent states assert that the Secretary’s action was arbitrary and capricious because it failed to consider reasonable alternatives, was pretextual, and failed to consider reliance interests.

Related Posts

Related Posts

Supreme Court Report, Volume 31, Issue 20

Supreme Court Report, Volume 32, Issue 6

Supreme Court Report, Volume 31, Issue 15

Connect with NAAG and the Attorney General Community

Create a NAAG account to subscribe to our newsletters or mailing lists.

Create Account
Subscribe
Marble columns and the top of a federal building

scroll to filters

White Logo for the National Association of Attorneys General

1850 M Street NW
12th floor
Washington, DC 20036

TEL 202-326-6000
EMAIL 

Youtube
  • Issues
    • Issues
      • Anticorruption
      • Antitrust
      • Bankruptcy
      • Charities
      • Civil Law
    • Issues
      • Consumer Protection
      • Criminal Law
      • Cyber and Technology
      • Disaster Preparedness & Response
      • Elder Justice
    • Issues
      • Ethics
      • Human Trafficking
      • Medicaid Fraud
      • Opioids
      • Powers & Duties
    • Issues
      • Public Health
      • The U.S. Supreme Court
      • Tobacco
      • Veterans & Military
  • Our Work
    • Training & Research
    • Centers
      • Center for Consumer Protection
      • Center for Supreme Court Advocacy
      • Center for Tobacco & Public Health
    • Committees
    • Initiatives
      • Presidential Initiative
      • Strategic Partnerships
      • International Fellows
      • COVID-19
    • Bankruptcy
    • Policy & Advocacy
  • Events & Training
    • Event Calendar
    • Attorney General Symposium
    • Presidential Summit
    • Capital Forum
    • Region Meetings
    • CLE Credit
    • NAAG Trainings
    • Online Learning
    • NAMFCU Trainings
    • NAAG Faculty
  • News & Resources
    • Attorney General Journal
    • Reports & Publications
    • Newsroom
    • NAAG Policy Letters
    • Podcasts
    • Online Learning
    • Research & Data
    • Member Directory
  • Attorneys General
    • What Attorneys General Do
    • Who is my Attorney General?
    • Attorneys General Office 101
    • Research & Data
    • Awards & Recognition
    • Careers in Attorney General Offices
    • Careers in Medicaid Fraud Control Units
  • About NAAG
    • NAAG Staff
    • NAAG Leadership
    • NAAG Member Services
    • NAAG Regions
    • NAAG FAQs
    • SAGE
    • NAMFCU
    • Newsroom
    • Careers at NAAG
  • Find my AG
  • About NAMFCU
    • About the Medicaid Fraud Control Units
    • Reporting Fraud and Abuse
    • MFCU Member Hub
    • Careers with a MFCU
  • Contact Us
  • Find My AG
  • Consumer Complaints
  • Member Benefits
  • Contact Us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Privacy & Cookies Notice
  • Sitemap
  • Member Login

About the National Association of Attorneys General

As the nonpartisan national forum for America's state and territory attorneys general and their staff, NAAG provides collaboration, insight, and expertise to empower and champion America's attorneys general.
Learn More

© 2025 Copyright National Association of Attorneys General

Website by Yoko Co

Internal Feedback / Report an Error

Request an Update / Report an Error

The change you are requesting will be linked to this page. The URL for the page will be included in a hidden field when the form is submitted.
Please enter your change or describe your request. Be sure to reference where the error appears on the page and what needs to be done specifically.
Upload any files that need to be linked to this page. PDF only. Submit another request if you have more than five files to upload.
Drop files here or
Accepted file types: pdf, docx, xls, Max. file size: 128 MB, Max. files: 5.

    Who is requesting this change?(Required)

    Scroll To Top