“A handful of Republican-dominated states seemed on the verge of invalidating President Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan at the Supreme Court on Tuesday, with a majority of the court’s conservatives indicating great skepticism.

“In 2003, after the 9/11 attacks, Congress passed a law to ensure that federal student loan borrowers would not be economically hammered in a national emergency.

“Specifically, the law says that when the president declares such an emergency, the secretary of education has the power to “waive or modify any statutory or regulatory provision” governing student loan programs.

“Both the Trump and Biden administrations invoked the law to pause student debt payments without penalties during the pandemic. Then last year, President Biden, pressed by some progressives in his own party, went further with a plan to provide up to $20,000 in debt relief for borrowers with limited earnings.”

Read more at NPR