Department of Education v. Brown

Fulfilling one of then-presidential candidate Joseph Biden’s campaign promises, the Secretary of Education invoked its authority under the HEROES Act to create a loan forgiveness program in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and national emergency. Under the program, a student borrower qualified for loan forgiveness if (1) they made less than $125,000 individually or $250,000 if married and filing jointly, and (2) they had Direct, Perkins, or FFEL loans that were not commercially held. Qualified borrowers could receive $20,000 if they received a Pell Grant and $10,000 if they did not.

Myra Brown and Alexander Taylor both have student loans. Brown is ineligible for debt forgiveness under the Program because her loans are commercially held, while Taylor is ineligible for the full $20,000 in debt forgiveness because he did not receive a Pell Grant.

They challenged the loan forgiveness program, arguing that if the Biden administration had followed proper procedures in adopting the plan, they would have been able to weigh in on the plan and urge for a plan that would have been more beneficial to them. The district court found that the program was an unconstitutional exercise of legislative power vested in Congress and issued a nationwide injunction. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit declined to stay the injunction.