A decision isn't expected until June. But based on today's oral arguments in the two cases challenging President Biden's student loan forgiveness program, it appears as though the fate of the plan is something of a foregone conclusion: the conservative-majority Supreme Court seems poised to strike down Biden's executive order.
When we asked readers several months ago for their thoughts on student debt forgiveness, we discovered a pretty wide divide over whether you all supported Biden's plan to wipe out $400 billion in student loans.
Some deemed it unfair. Others praised the move as offering much-needed relief to generations burdened by debt. I'm not here to relitigate those thoughts. But keeping tabs on oral arguments today, one small fact kept returning to me: Clarence Thomas, as far as the public knows, is the only justice to have borrowed money to pay for higher education, something he's previously referenced in personal stories packed with bootstrap capitalism morales. It's a familiar narrative, even in some liberal corners. Still, it's fascinating to me that only one justice can attest to the weight of student debt.
On the other hand, Sonia Sotomayor received scholarships to attend Princeton and Yale Law. But like Thomas, Sotomayor grew up in relative poverty. Her powerful words today, regardless of where you stand on loan forgiveness, are worth your time. As my colleague Hannah Levintova said upon hearing them, they "made her heart sing."
—Inae Oh
