LITTLE ROCK— Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge today announced a lawsuit against President Joe Biden, Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, and the U.S. Department of Education for violating federal law when the Biden Administration attempted to categorically cancel student loan debt in August. The suit alleges that Biden violated federal law, the constitutional principle of separation of powers and the Administrative Procedure Act when he skirted congressional authority to implement this policy.
“President Biden’s unlawful political play puts the self-wrought college-loan debt on the backs of millions of hardworking Americans who are struggling to pay their utility bills and home loans amid Biden’s inflation,” said Attorney General Leslie Rutledge. “President Biden does not have the power to arbitrarily erase the college debt of adults who chose to take out those loans.”
The lawsuit highlights that President Biden knew he did not have the proper authority to authorize this type of executive action, which is why he attempted to work with Congress to find a legitimate and legal solution to the student loan crisis. After Congress routinely failed to pass legislation addressing the issue, Biden attempted to unilaterally act far beyond the authority granted to him by the Constitution. This action will result in approximately half a trillion dollars in losses to the federal treasury and contribute to the already rampant inflation the nation is experiencing.
The Democrat Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, summarized it best when she said, “people think the President of the United States has the power for debt forgiveness. He does not.”
The states of Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and South Carolina are joining Arkansas in the suit.
