UPDATE: Georgia judge allows Biden-Harris admin’s student loan payout to proceed temporarily, Missouri judge reimposes injunction

A federal judge will not renew a temporary restraining order that has blocked the Biden-Harris administration’s comprehensive student loan payout plan from moving forward, a plan that could affect tens of millions of Americans. The current version of student loan forgiveness could be applicable to as many as 75 percent of those who have federal student loans, CNBC reported.

U.S. District Judge Randal Hall in Georgia, a President George W. Bush appointee, made the decision Wednesday. It is seen as a victory for both the Democratic administration and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, who can tout the package on the campaign trail with Election Day just over a month away.

The decision was prompted by a lawsuit against the taxpayer-funded spending from seven red states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, North Dakota and Ohio. They said the US Department of Education was illegally trying to cancel student debt.

Hall said that Georgia had no basis to sue over the debt relief plan and ruled that the case be moved to Missouri, since the dissenting states argue the Biden-Harris payout will most adversely affect student loan servicer Mohela, or the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority. On Thursday, the Republican-led states inquired whether a federal judge in MIssouri would keep the payout plan on hold and the answer was no.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Education (DoE) said while it applauded the judge’s decision that Georgia had “no legal basis” to sponsor the case against he student loan package, it is concerned that Republican remain hostile to the plan and will continue to stop it.

“The fact remains that this lawsuit reflects an ongoing effort by Republican elected officials who want to prevent millions of their own constituents from getting breathing room on their student loans,” DoE said.

“We will not stop fighting to fix the broken student loan system and provide support and relief to borrowers across the country.”

Biden’s current student loan forgiveness plan would erase debt for four groups of students who borrowed money for their education: those whose debt is greater now than it was when they borrowed it; those who have already been re-paying their loan for decades; students from schools with little financial worth; and those who would get their debt erased under an existing program but haven’t yet applied.